Legend Of Zelda: Two heroes, One destiny
by lilbigEnano96
Summary: After the battle with his mortal enemy, Link awakens finding himself a young boy again. Without the master swords power Link is stuck like this, and Midna is unable to return to her true form due to Ganondorf surviving the final battle. Meanwhile, a young knight wonders the fields of Hyrule, searching for a past niether he or anyone else remembers.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I posting this due to my HUGE writers block on my other fic. So this is my first attempt at a Legend of Zelda fic so I hope you enjoy it. There will be a number of refrerences to OOT, but this is mostly set after TP (Also, I haven't played Zelda in a while so I might be a little off on some things)**

**Legend of Zelda:**

**Two Heroes, One Destiny:**

**Prologue:**

**Mandrag Ganon and The Hero of Time: **

"Before the hero, there was darkness, before there was darkness, there was light, and in the beginning, there was only chaos."

Before there was ever any life in the open plains or in the great seas, it was said that three golden goddesses came down from the heavens to the chaotic land below. They were Din, the goddess of power, who forged the red earth, Nayru, the goddess of wisdom, who brought order, and perhaps the most important, Farore, the goddess of courage, who brought life. When their deeds were completed, the three goddesses left behind a fraction of their power in the shape of a pyramid: the Triforce.

Now the goddesses had never played favorites and watched each of the races that populated the land argue and fight like children. The Hylians, the Gorons, the Zoras each lived on the same piece of land, so no one understood why they would fight. The Twili and Sheikah were long gone, the former to another realm and the later extinct. The only two races that wished for the fighting to stop were the Kokiri of the forest and the nomadic group of Hylians who made the skies their home, earning them the name Skyians. The only one thing everyone seemed to agree on is the deep, mutual dislike for one race in particular: the Gerudo.

The Gerudo were not liked or trusted by anyone, and there was a reason for that. They were savages, thieves, and murderers who made the desert their home, although, not by choice. The population consisted of mainly women with bronze skin, crimson red hair and menacing golden eyes. One male Gerudo is born every hundred years, and by law, he is to be the next Gerudo king. Such a fate was rested upon a young Ganondorf Dragmire, the future embodiment of pure evil and hatred.

Growing up in the desert was hard. The would-be king saw many perish from either the unbearable heat of the sun, or the freezing climate that accompanies the night. Ganondorf had eventually grown used to it, but that didn't help soothe the growing hatred that he held for the other races, most notably, the Hylians. The sight of the Hylians having everything while his people suffered sickened him. And while the seasons came and went, as days passed and turned into weeks, months, and years, his heart only grew more twisted and cold.

Meanwhile, the small arguments the Hylians, Gorons, and Zoras had daily soon turned to all-out brawls and later escalated into battles. Civil war was looming over the beautiful world the goddesses had created. Ganondarf saw this as a sign of the goddesses, and vowed to take vengeance and give his people what they truly deserved.

Ganondorf quickly traveled to the king and queens castle and swore his loyalty to their cause offering to fight along their side, should war happen. At first, the king and queen refused immediately, but as time went by and war seemed the only answer, they accepted. The only person who had her doubts of Dragmire from the beginning was the young princess, Zelda.

Then came the fateful day that a young lad from the Kokiri woods came to deliver the spiritual stone of the forest to the princess in castle town; his name was Link. While Princess Zelda told him to gather the remaining stones, Ganondorf took his chance and unleashed chaos in the town. By the time the young Link returned, castle town was in ruins.

Although he failed to seize either the princess or successfully kill Link, Ganondorf followed the later in to the ancient temple of time, there, he witnessed the youth pull the master sword, the legendary blade used by the ancient ones, and collapse to the ground. He then saw the one thing that he had come to called a myth, the Triforce.

Something happened however, as Ganondorf touched the relic, the ground began to shake violently and the Triforce split into three parts. Due to the twisted heart and the hatred he bared, the evil king was infused with the triforce of power, granting him overwhelming strength, enhancing his magical abilities, and giving him eternal life. These gifts also came with a price. In a flash, he transformed into a being that mirrored his evil ambitions. Ganondorf Dragmire, the once proud Gerudo king was now the dark beast, Ganon.

But did the former king keep his promise to his people? In a mere seven years, Ganon took over the land with an iron fist, with no princess Zelda in sight. And his people, they were left to starve in the deserts.

But one good thing did come out of this, all of the races, including the Gerudo, put aside their differences and decided to stand together and fight the evil beast. But one major problem arose: Who would lead them all to battle against Ganon's army of darkness? While everyone was trying to figure that out amongst themselves, He came.

The Link that led them was not the same young boy from seven years ago, no, once he awakened from his long slumber, Link reappeared, only this time, as the legendary Hero of Time.

An army stood at Ganon's dark tower, and while it fought the hellish creatures that emerged from within it, Link, along with the seven sages, reached the top and found themselves face to face with the beast himself.

A fierce and bloody battle followed, in which the hero and the sages managed to bind Ganon back into his human body. However, due to the Triforce of power, he could not be killed. So he was sealed away, and as the sun shone on the land for the first time in almost a decade, everyone, be they Hylian, Goron, or Zora, celebrated. And thus, the kingdom of Hyrule was born.

Zelda, knowing fully well that the danger had passed and a hero was no longer needed; sent Link back in time to live his missed childhood…but that is not this story.

As the evil was still alive, it somehow managed to escape countless times and the reincarnations of Link and Zelda were always there to stop it. Sometimes in the form of Ganon and sometimes others, with and without the aid of unexpected allies…let us go forward to a point in time when Link, as the Hero of Twilight, and Ganondorf, having almost succeed in merging Hyrule with the twilight realm, are locked in a final battle with the fate of Hyrule once again hanging in the balance.

**A/N: Want to know what happenes next? Give me a few days and I'll tell you. Hopefully, the chapters will get longer as the story goes on. (Feedback would be nice, but you don't have to if you don't want to)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks to the people that reviewed the first chapter (well the opening to be exact) hope you guys like this one. Oh I almost forgot, I don't own Legend of Zelda **

**Chapter 1:**

**The End?**

Link could only stare. He couldn't believe what just happened. One second, both he and Zelda were in a crumbling Hyrule castle, then the next both were out in Hyrule field, holding their breaths. Zelda wore a horrified expression as a hundred thoughts swam through the hero's head: *_what's going on in there? Why did she do that, sacrifice herself? Was she in there, all alone fighting Ganondorf?*_ Then an explosion was heard.

The color of both their faces looked deathly pale, for what they saw was instantly burned into their minds. Galloping in his jet black steed was the immortal Ganondorf Dragmire, behind him, was a completely destroyed Hyrule castle, with no sign of the Twilight princess. For mere seconds, both the hero's ocean blue eyes and the man-beast's feral golden eyes locked, and Link could almost feel the villain's sword pierce his hope. To further add to Link's horror, Ganondorf held up the one of the pieces of the fused shadows, and smash it in victory. Link tensed, his whole body was shaking with anger. "…I swear," he spoke in a low voice that resembled a growl, "I'm going to kill this bastard if it's the last thing I do!" Link ran towards his own steed Epona, and as he ran, the memories of his time with the twilight princess began flashing in his head. He remembered when he had first transformed into a wolf, the sacred beast as he was sometimes known as, and his first encounter with the imp he had come to call his friend. Warm tears began running down his checks as he remembered all the hard battles the two had fought together as a team. She was the brains and he was the brawns. When Zant had critically wounded her, Link had gone through hell and back to get her to Zelda…now, he supposed, it was time for her to return the favor. *Midna,* her name echoed in his mind, *I promise…that your sacrifice won't be in vain…*

Even if he was a few meters away, Ganondorf could see the determination and fire in the youths eyes. *This boy looks a lot like _he_ does,* He thought to himself, *they even share the same name…* the dark man's eyes widened as realization struck him, "No…it can't be…that's impossible." Ganondorf speeded away just as Link and Zelda mounted Epona. Ganondorf looked back, Zelda was at the ready with her light arrows and Link had drawn the master sword. And at that very moment, he swore that he was seeing not the hero of Twilight, but his old arch-nemesis, the hero of Time. All that was missing now was the massive army the hero had gathered, and that one fact snapped the man back to the present. "He might look like him," he growled urging his horse to go faster, "but he will never be him, he's just a pathetic ranch herd, nothing more."

Zelda launched an arrow, barley missing her target as shooting on horseback proved to be a skill she had to polish up on. Link soon caught up with Ganondorf and brought the master sword down to his neck, but the old wizard was quick on his guard. Sparks flew and blades clashed as both Link and Ganondorf tried to best each other. Unexpectedly, Ganondorf rammed Epona with his steed, almost knocking her sideways. *Damn it,* Link thought as he guided the horse back to give him enough time to think of a counter attack, *I might as well be hit with a battering ram.* Ganondorf rammed them a second time, piercing Link's ribs with his sharp elbow. Link caught Zelda's gesture and, just before Ganondorf ram them a third time, Link moved away, giving Zelda a clear shot. Ganondorf steed collapsed to the ground as the dark king began to drag himself from the dirt. Link got off Epona and drew the master sword with murderous intent in his eyes. Ganondorf laughed as he saw Links anger rising with each step he took.

"So," Dragmire spat drawing his blade, "you plan to fight _me_?" What was he thinking a moment ago? This boy was most certainly no hero, much less a reincarnation of the hero of time. He was just a damn child, too small to fill the role he played.

"No," Link snarled his voice cold and hoarse, his eyes bloodshot, "I'm going to kill you."

The Gerudo bellowed with laughter "Sure," he sneered, "your welcome to try, _boy_. However, I'll let you in on a secret; you're not the first hero that was chosen by the gods to kill me." Ganondorf smiled as Link gave a dumbfounded expression, "Oh yes, I've faced many chosen heroes over the centuries I've lived. And if I wouldn't know any better, I'd say you're a direct descendent of only one who's gotten close to killing me, the hero of time. You look sound so much alike, and the resemblance between you two is startling…it's almost as if I've gone hundreds of years back in time."

Link stopped for a second, and then gripped his blade until his knuckles turned white. "Maybe I am a descendent of this hero of time," he said, making sure Ganondorf heard every word, "Or maybe I'm just a foolish goat herder playing hero." He raised his sword; the symbol on his hand began glowing faintly. "Either way, one things for sure," Link began to charge his opponent recklessly, "You won't get away with this!"

As their blades clashed, Link heard Ganondorf mutter something under his breath, "So be it…fool." Link was knocked to the ground in an instant, but rolled away in time before his opponent brought down his sword. Link quickly dodged Ganondorf's attacks and got to his feet when he saw his chance. Ganondorf responded by lunging at him fiercely once again meeting swords with him. He let out a grunt as the master sword cut his flesh, and moved away as Link swung the blade towards him. "You think you can match me as an equal?" he growled, "just what do you hope to accomplish child?"

"I'm going to hack you up and then burn the pieces," Link said as he dodged his opponent's brutal swings, "See if you still live after that." He managed to avoid Ganondorf's bone crushing roundhouse. "Then maybe Midna can rest in peace knowing I avenged her murder." His opponent merely chuckled, as if Link's scheme amused him.

"Is that all you wish to do?" Ganondorf asked him in a mocking tone, "My, you make it sound awfully simple, expect you forgot one thing, with the Triforce of power in my possession," Link felt a burning pain in his shoulder as it bled fresh dark red blood. "I cannot die." Ganondorf looked at the tip of his blade, coated in Links blood, then at the so called hero who was trying to make the bleeding stop, only turning his hand completely red. "Tell me something," he said walking towards the boy, practically dragging is blade, "from the start, you knew the imp was using you to meet her own goals, the way she treated you on your journey here, like a slave, so I must ask, why you would care if that excuse for a princess died." The man laughed as the boy looked up at him, "Is it pity, friendship…love?"

Link ignored the pain in his shoulder and managed to somehow regain his stance before he spoke with a mixture of anger and agony at the same time. "…How many people have you killed?" The man gave a confused expression, "Just how many innocent lives have you taken without mercy?" There was a silence between the two with only Like's heavy breathing breaking it. "Well, what's your answer?"

"Many." He finally spoke, a grin beginning to form, "I used to leave trails of bodies in my wake just because I could…every man, women, and children of villages…no bones left unbroken, no throat left unopened."

"You…son of a bitch…how could you?"

"Simple, I would hack them all to pieces until a river of blood was covering the floor…just like when I killed Midna just a few moments ago." Link looked ready to rip his head off when he said that, "Oh, how her last words still ring in my head, she was so convinced that you and Zelda would flee the land while you still could and possibly return to kill me when you were strong enough…how does it feel to know you've disappointed her?" Ganondorf could see the boy was holding back the urge to draw tears, then just as he predicted he would, the boy recklessly swung his sword in such a wild matter it was a miracle he didn't chop off one of his own limbs. Had the boy been more carefully about his guard, he would've easily blocked the strike that knocked his weapon away and sent him to the ground. Before Link had a chance to get up, Ganondorf stomped on his chest and left his foot there, preventing him from escaping.

Link looked up to see a shocked Zelda overlooking the battle; he gave her a look that told her not to interfere. "You are such a child," the Gerudo king mocked, "did you honestly think you would defeat me and avenge the deaths caused by my hand?" He then curled his hand into a fist as a purple fire danced at the tips of his fingers. "How I would've enjoyed killing you as a brat, which would've been far more appropriate." He then dug his fingers into Link's ribcage and taking it back out seconds later as the youth coughed out blood. "In any case, goodbye boy," He said raising his boot to the youths face, "you fought hard but not hard enough. Now, it is time to end your worthless life once and-" Before Ganondorf completed his sentence, he let out an enraged cry as he felt an arrow pierce his breastplate. By the time he registered what happened, Link had already retrieved the master sword and pierced his heart. Ganondorf was shocked; he did not think he would ever fall to anyone no matter how strong they were. "This…will not be…our last meeting…be certain of that…" with that, Link saw a vision of the maddened Twili ruler Zant snapping his neck, then Ganondorf fell to the ground, presumably lifeless.

Zelda breathed a sigh of relief; it was over, for now. However, as she saw Link reaching for his sword and hold it inches away from Ganondorf's corpse, she rushed over to the young hero. "Link, don't do this," the princess spoke in a reassuring voice, trying to calm him, "it's over, the battle is won." The boy said nothing nor did he put down his weapon. Zelda put a hand on Links shoulder as she spoke, "He was our enemy yes, but that's no reason to mutilate his body." Links hand was trembling with anger, "Doing this won't bring Midna back."

"It's not just Midna princess," he said, his eyes still on the body, "this man killed many innocent people just to get where he was. He deserves to have his heart carved out…but, I won't do it, I won't become like him." With those words, Link seethed his sword and suddenly felt like his head was about to explode, his vision blurred and he collapsed with an unspoken sentence in his mind. *_Midna, I did it. It's over. It's…finally…over…*_

Zelda quickly knelt next to the body and relaxed once she heard his quiet, steady breathing. She looked at the hero's horse, which was at this point in a panic. "It's alright girl," the princess said soothing the frightened animal as she stroked her white mane, "Link's fine." Epona seemed to calm down after hearing that. "Come on," Zelda told her as she saddled the horse with Link practically dangling behind her, "We have to take Link somewhere safe." And with that, she directed Epona to the only place Link would truly be safe. Ordon village.

Sunlight bathed the land as princess Zelda pasted Faron woods and arrived at the peaceful village. It was one of the least affected areas of the twilight invasion, and Links place of origin. Everyone stopped what they were doing as they saw the horse approaching. Whatever job, big or small was halted at that very moment as everyone in the village froze, staring at the bizarre scene. Maybe it was the sight of the princess, whose royal attire was now ripped and coated with dirt and blood, or perhaps it was the comatose hero that was in the same state as the princess, only with more dirt and blood on his hero's garb, or even the hero, the princess and the horse altogether. No one dared ask what happened as all heard the explosion that came from Hyrule castle and had already assumed the worst had come to past. Finally, the mayor of the village stepped forward, with a girl of around Link's age by his side. "Your highness," he spoke in a low voice, "princess Zelda of Hyrule castle." He bowed before her, and soon everyone followed his example. "What brings you to our small, humble village?"

Zelda dismounted Epona and took hold of the rains, "This boy, Link, he is from here is he not?" she asked although she already knew the answer, the mayor nodded, "Then, I have the people of Ordon to thank for raising one of the greatest heroes Hyrule has ever known."

"So, Link saved us all?" he asked, and instantly whispering began amongst the people. The princess nodded.

"Is he…" the voice of the girl murmured, and instantly everyone ceased the whispering. "Is Link…dead?"

"No, no," Zelda said quickly, "thank the goddesses he's still with us. My only guess is that the boy lies in a coma. So I thought I'd bring him home for the time being. At least, until Hyrule castle is livable again." Everyone's sprit lightened up a bit when they heard this.

"Really princess," the mayor said, "we'd be more than happy to take him off your hands as I'm sure you have many important duties at the moment." The princess nodded.

"Then it is settled, by midday, you will see soldiers standing guard at the entrance of Faron woods." The mayor along with two other men helped carry Link to his home laying his equipment near him and spreading blankets around him.

"You are more than welcome to stay as long as you'd like your highness." the mayor told Zelda to which she responded with a small smile.

"Thank you mayor Bo, but I must return to my kingdom immediately, the people need to know that this nightmare is over." As she left, Zelda took one last look at the sleeping Link, then swore she heard him mutter her name. And if he did, this would be the last time he would speak in a very long time.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hope you like. (P.S.: I think I made a few grammer errors here and there)**

**Chapter 2:**

**Back From the Dead:**

Months had gone by and still Link showed no signs of recovery. In that time Ordon had changed to say the least. Zelda had promised protection, and so the soldiers came. Zelda had picked one of her best captains she had to offer, an honest and kindhearted young man who was quiet skilled with a blade. Captain Hector was one of, if not the youngest Captain in the entire kingdom. Aside from surviving the twilight invasion, the captains overall good nature and wise battle tactics were only some of the reasons why he was liked all around. Hector was one of the few men Zelda could trust, so, along with his apprentice, he was tasked to lead a small group of men who were willing to protect the village of Ordon. The peaceful residents were at first afraid of the armed men that would live with them for an unknown amount of time, but after seeing the captains generosity, they began to relax. Although some of the men immediately showed their dislike towards the Ordon people, the captain would always keep them in line.

The children would no longer run around and play as they use to, one was for fear of the soldiers with their swords, bows, and spears, not to mention the almost permanent scowls on their faces. The other reason was because after Ilia finished her daily chores, all of them would head over to Link's house to check up on him.

Although all of them knew Link would not wake up soon, however, they still had hope that one day as they visited him, they would find the teen up and about and then maybe, just maybe things would go back to the way they were before. When they all entered the tree house, they found Link in the same state he has been for almost a year now, his equipment at one side of the room as if waiting for his awakening. As the younger children gathered around Link, Ilia fetched the bucket she used to bring water from the spring and stepped outside. Ilia hadn't been to the spring for some time, for it brought back bitter memories that to this day haunted her nightmares. But the spring was said to have healing abilities, knowing that, she set off with the hopes of recovering Link. As Ilia arrived, she noticed the soldiers had set up tents around the area (The captains being naturally larger than the others). She overheard some of the men's conversation as she walked on, "Man I can't believe the princess stationed us over at this excuse for a town." the captains apprentice, Roy, a tall young man that looked a couple of years older than Link, said, "I'd rather be at the Gerudo's desert, at least there I'll have something better to do than watch over these peasants."

The other man frowned at hearing his statement, "I don't like this anymore than you do, but I wouldn't go that far, besides orders are orders." Roy muttered something under his breath, not caring what his companion thought. It was then that they noticed Ilia.

"What are you doing here girl?" Roy asked in a commanding voice, "Stay out of our way if you know what's good for you peasant! You're lucky the captains got a soft spot for your kind." It was at that moment that said man stepped out of his tent, spreading a wave of authority around.

"Roy," he asked raising a brow, "what is the meaning of this outburst?"

"This peasant-" Roy began, but was cut off by the captain.

"I see no peasant," the man said looking at the young girl's direction and sighing, "this is exactly why I disagreed taking an aristocrat as an apprentice, you people always judge instead of doing your job." Roy looked at the man with unmistakable hate.

"Then why did you do it?" he asked, "Just because her highness put you up to it? How much rupees did she pay you?"

"Roy," Hector said in a voice that showed he was losing his patience, "stand down." Roy gripped his sword handle but did as he was told. "Aristocrats…" Hector muttered walking over to Ilia. "I apologize for my apprentice 's rude behavior," he said picking up the bucket full of water off the ground, "he's been like this since the end of the twilight invasion."

"Thank you captain," she said taking the bucket and walking off. Hector stood there for a few moments before jogging after her.

"Wait miss," he said as he caught up to the young girl ahead of him, "may I ask you a question?" She nodded and the captain slowed his pace until he was walking beside her, "As you know miss,"

"Ilia," the girl corrected, "my name is Ilia."

"Very well Ilia, as you know, my men and I are stationed in this town to offer our protection here, but the princess had told me there was something beyond that, she told me that in this village, the true savoir of Hyrule lies in a deep sleep…tell me, is this the man you and the other children always tend to?" Hector had stopped at this point and waited for Ilia to answer, finally the girl nodded.

"His name is Link," she said in a quiet voice, "he's been like this for more than half a year. And even if no one else believes it…the children and I still haven't lost hope that he'll awaken one day."

The captains smiled, "Then let's hope he does, I'm looking forward to shaking his hand." Ilia smiled back and the two walked together to Links house. "Sometimes I wonder how princess Zelda is holding up with a million things to do at once."

Zelda was exhausted. As she dressed in her nightgown, she groaned at the thought of another day of the same thing awaiting her in the morning. *At least the rebuilding of the castle is beginning to quicken.* she thought trying to think on the bright side of things. *We should be able to bring Link here and try to undo the enchantment, if there is any that is.* She sighed, if the soldiers did return, Captain Hector's lieutenant would too. That was something she could do without. Zelda was beautiful, and a beautiful young woman as she having many admirers was understandable, but Roy's failed attempts at winning her affection were becoming tiresome. He was impulsive, coldhearted, and his obsession with Zelda had only intensified after the twilight invasion, now that the young princess was pressured into finding a husband. She cringed at the thought of Roy becoming king, "Not now, not ever." she muttered to herself.

She pushed the thought aside and concentrated on other more important matters, she really should be looking over the schematics on the east wing or even some spell book or two to see if there is any reverse spell, but she also needed to be well rested if she wanted to get anything done. So with a small yawn, she set her brush down and let her head hit the pillow.

Her dream was always the same. It had been for months. She remembered everything: the feeling of dying, Ganondorf possessing her body in order to fight Link, Midna teleporting them out of the castle, and the battle that followed afterwards. The Gerudo Kings last words especially haunted her, _"This…will not be…our last meeting…be certain of that…"_ Then something new happened, a white light blinded her, and then she heard a voice.

"_Zelda…"_ the voice spoke, "_can you hear me…Zelda?" _ It was all around her, and it sounded strangely familiar. "_Zelda…"_ it repeated a little louder. It took Zelda a few moments to realize who it belonged to.

"Midna!" the princess cried not hiding her joy, although they hadn't looked eye to eye on some subjects, she was glad to hear the voice of the twilight princess. "How-how are you alive," she asked, looking around, "where are you?"

"To answer your questions in order," the voice of Midna spoke, "I don't know exactly, one minute I was sure I was dead, and then the next, I'm back in the Twilight realm. As for why you can't see me is simple, right now I'm using a spell that allows you to hear my voice through your dreams, I'm afraid this is the best I can do for now." A brief silence followed before Midna asked the next question. "So…how's wolf boy holding up?"

"Link?" Zelda asked, quickly trying to come up with an answer, "He's back in Ordon."

"Well listen tell him I-" Before Midna could finish, the princess was awakened by the sunlight in her face. Zelda sighed as she awoke, but it was one of relief. "I don't believe it," she said to herself, "she cheated death again." And for once, her busy day didn't seem so bad.

Her day was an exact mirror of the previous one. Zelda sat in her nearly finished throne room pretending to care about the daily arguments the council had. You'd think that with the castle still in construction and the land slowly recovering they'd do something to help, but no, the same people who criticized the princess's word and refused to give her the title of Queen unless she found a man to marry were standing before her arguing like children rather than doing their part to help Hyrule . Zelda hated them; she wished she could relief every one of them of their positions on the counsel. But until she was queen, this would be a regular thing.

The only thing that kept her awake was remembering Midna's conversation. She wondered when she would contact her again, but then again, she was the twilight princess now, and if Zelda remembered correctly, the Twili didn't take too well to the "light dwellers". She was so busy ignoring the counsel men, that when Midna's voice entered her head she let out a startled gasp. Everyone in the room stared at her.

She rose from her throne, "Gentlemen," she said with a forced smile, "I apologize for doing this, but I will have to end this meeting now." With that, she turned and left the men with dumbfounded expressions on all their faces.

Once she was in the sanctuary of her bedroom, Zelda let out a sigh of relief. "O.k. Midna," she said out loud, "I'm alone now."

She heard a faint giggle inside her head, "_I think I just saved you from an extremely boring meeting princess."_ Zelda sighed; Midna didn't know how right she was. "_Anyways I thought you should be the first to know, I'm making a…unexpected trip to the world of light."_

Zelda gasped, "You mean you're leaving your kingdom without anyone knowing?" She heard Midna sigh inside her head.

"_See, that's the problem, it's not MY kingdom, not yet anyways." _Zelda waited for the Twili to continue "_The chairmen agree, I can't rule a kingdom being an imp."_ Zelda was confused, wasn't Ganondorf's death enough to break the curse? Another more horrible thought creped it's way inside her head, but she immediately pushed it away.

"When will you arrive?" Zelda asked

_"I don't know exactly, as soon as tomorrow I hope."_

"Wait before you leave tell me something," Zelda said curiously, "I thought you said the spell only worked in dreams." The princess could tell Midna was smiling that crazy grin of hers.

"_You gave me part of your life, remember? We have a sort of empathy link." _

Zelda nodded as a knock was heard at her door, "Princess," came a voice of a castle guard, "I have urgent news from the captain in Ordan." She opened the door to the out of breath man who quickly saluted before continuing. "It is the hero, he has begun to stir."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 3:**

**Awakened at Last:**

Zelda was speechless. She had been waiting to hear that for the longest time, and now, she didn't know what to say. Quickly, she got rid of her royal attire and put on the robes she wore while she was Zant's prisoner; she then sneaked into the kitchen and grabbed whatever she could, put it in a sack, and hurried to the stables. She rode out without a single guard after her.

Zelda was normally cautious when traveling through Hyrule fields; she knew that either in time of peace or war, monsters were a common hazard. But apparently today, she threw all caution to the wind as she sped through the fields. Aside from shortening a trip that would normally take around half a day, Zelda also learned that monsters hate charging horses. By around the time the sun was setting, Zelda had reached the entrance of Faron Woods. "Who knows," Zelda seemed to be saying to the horse as they stopped to take a break, "maybe Link will be awake by the time I get there." The horse just whinnied in response.

Zelda made sure to tread carefully as she made her way towards the camp in the spring. The soldiers began to exit their tents to greet her, but Zelda gestured for silence. "No one must know of my prescience here," she said in a hushed voice, "Captain, you and your apprentice return to the castle immediately, if all goes well, I will join you with the awakened hero."

"Finally," Roy said picking up his equipment and dusting himself, "I've had it with this miserable excuse for a town." This earned him a dirty look from both the captain and princess.

"Very well my princess." Captain Hector said, signaling another soldier to pack up and join them, pretty soon, like a pack of shadows, they moved silently out of the forest and into the fields. Zelda conceded her face and proceeded to the village while the rest of the soldiers carried on.

"I have come in behave of the princess of Hyrule." a hooded Zelda said as she dismounted her horse. Mayor Bo nodded and led her to Link's house where all the children had gathered around the sleeping teen. Some looked excited while others looked terrified, but still they sat and waited to see what happened next.

"Children," Bo called, all the children's eyes darted towards the man and understanding passed through them. Quietly, they all followed the mayor outside as he slowly shut the door. Zelda lite a few candles to get a better look at the sleeping boy before her. When she first left him here, Link had a peaceful look on his face, now; he looked as if he was having a gruesome nightmare. His entire body was drenched in sweat and he was wincing as if in pain. Zelda touched the boy's forehead, it felt like a corpses.

"Link," she whispered in his ear, "I know you can hear me…hang in there Link. I'll get you back to Hyrule castle as quickly as I can."

"…Z-Zelda…"

Zelda flinched as she heard Link utter her name weakly. *Oh my Goddesses,* she thought, it was too good to be true. *he spoke!* before she could even think of another thought, Midna interrupted her. Zelda stepped outside for a brief moment.

"_Zelda, I'm at the Gerudo desert now, where should I go to?" _

"To Ordon," Zelda said quickly, "Link and I will-" Zelda was cut short by a scream coming from inside the house.

After what seemed like an eternity, Link finally felt his senses returning. The process, although weak at first, was going at a steady pace, when Zelda had arrived, he had heard her soft yet worried voice next to his ear and felt her hand on his forehead. Now he could see a light, and pretty soon, he was beginning to open his eyes. Link, being asleep for more than half a year, was overwhelmed with seeing since he had accustomed to darkness. When his vision returned to normal (or close to it) he attempted to rise off the floor, but soon fell back down seeing as all his muscles were numb. Link noticed something then, was it just him, or was everything _bigger_ than he remembered? Link dragged himself to the bucket of water next to him, hoping that the cool water would wake him up completely. However, when the ripples cleared and he stared at his reflection, Link wished he was dreaming.

When Zelda reentered the small tree house, she thought she was going to faint right then and there; In front of her stood Link: awake, alive, and about six or seven years younger. Both the princess and the young boy stared at each other for the longest time. "Princess," the boy finally said wide eyed, his voice panicky, "what's going on here…why am I…why am I a child again?" He didn't wait for her to answer, "This can't be happening, it can't be…how?" Link stared at his hands and then looked back at the shocked princess.

"We need to get you back to the castle," she said after another long silence, "maybe…maybe I have something that can reverse-" Link didn't let her finish.

"Forgive me for saying this, but have you gone insane?" the boy asked her a little louder than he intended, "I can't be seen by anyone like this."

"You won't," Zelda reassured, "If we move quickly and quietly, no one will take notice." Link raised a brow as if in question, but nodded in agreement. "Where are you going?" Zelda asked him seeing him heading towards the exit.

"I'm going to get Epona," he said as he half limped to the door, "I'll meet you by the forest entrance.

"Actually," Zelda said before the boy exited, ""the mayor says both Epona and his daughter haven't been seen all day."

Link froze, *Of all the times Ilia could've gotten Epona, why'd it have to be now?* he thought sighing, "Wait a minute," Link realized suddenly, "where's the master sword?" The boy franticly searched the small house, forgetting about the numbness in his muscles. "Zelda…" he said in alarm, "I-I can't find it, it's not here! I have to find it!"

"Then I will remain here," the princess said, "but please hurry Link." Link nodded and he sprinted out of the house.

"Come on," Link muttered to himself, hoping in vain that the symbol in his left hand would show him the location of the master sword, "where is it?" He had checked every house in the village and still the master sword did not appear. He had just finished searching the mayors. *There is no way it would've there, but it didn't hurt to check.* Link had to admit, he'd figured that at least one person would have spotted him by now, but then again, he was good at sneaking around, especially in the cover of darkness . As he exited through the open window, Link noticed that the mayor still wasn't home; probably out looking for Ilia and Epona. So after surveying the house a second time, he made his way outside, where Zelda was already saddling up. The look on his face told her everything.

Zelda sighed, "Change of plans then," she said to no one in particular, "meet us in Hyrule castle." Link stared at her with an expression that suggested she was mad. "You'll understand when we get there Link." She told the youth. *I wonder if anyone's noticed my disappearance,* Zelda thought to herself, *probably not seeing as now a days I'm always locked inside my chambers.* As they rode ahead, the young Link could tell that this was another adventure just waiting to unfold.

Ilia saw the horse speeding towards the direction of Hyrule caste as she guided Epona away from Lake Hylia. Ilia had to tug on the rains as she noticed Epona wanting to go that direction; Ilia could tell that she had this strange desire to follow them and for some reason, she did too. The girl turned her gaze towards the small, quiet town she called home and realized that upon arrival, she would most likely receive a lecture from her father. *At least when he wakes up, Link will forget about his adventures around Hyrule,* she thought sighing, *maybe one day he'll thank me for doing this.* "Come on girl," she told the horse, "let's go back home."

As Link and the princess arrived in Castle town, they could see from their position the many guards patrolling the castle grounds. Zelda sighed, there was no way around it, she and Link would have to sneak inside without being seen which was easier said than done. Before Zelda could explain to Link the route to the secret stairs located in the gardens, she heard a familiar giggle behind her.

Form out of darkness; Midna appeared, giving the two a grin that revealed her fangs. "I checked the entire castle TWICE and you weren't there," she told Zelda in a tone that dripped with sarcasm, "say, where's Li-" she stopped when she saw the boy next to Zelda. Nobody knew who was more surprised. After a while, Midna clasped both of her small hands in her mouth and tried in vain not to laugh.

"What so funny Midna?" Link demanded looking at the imp before him. Granted he was happy to be reunited with his friend and he was sure she felt the same, but both also knew this was coming. Midna's face turned red as the boy heard her laughing through her hands. Finally, Midna pointed a finger at the boy, "Remember _all _those jokes you made about _my_ height?" she asked him.

The boy sighed, "Now is really not the time Midna." But the look on the imp told him she wasn't going to let this go that easy, this was too good to be true, at least for her.

"And what were all those names you use to call me?" She asked him poking at his chest as she repeated each name. "Let's see, they were half-pint, brat, MIDGET, and a whole collection of them." She patted his head lightly, "But don't worry, my little wolf cub, I am glad to see you…all four feet of you." As she burst out laughing, steam was practically coming out of Link's ears.

Even Zelda couldn't surpass a chuckle; Link stared at her in disbelief. But as soon as she cleared her throat, the laughter died down and things got serious. "Midna," she said in a sort of hushed voice, "can you warp us inside without anyone noticing?" The imp gave a grin, nodded, and with a snap opened a portal, teleporting them into Zelda's chambers.

As soon as the three stepped into the room, there was a light knock at the door. Both Midna and Link scurried to a hiding place while Zelda opened the door just enough for her to see who it was. Zelda opened the door wide when she saw it was only a common castle maid and not some member of the counsel demanding to know why she hadn't shown her face all day. "We were beginning to worry about you your highness," the young girl said, "you must be starving. Shall I tell the cooks to prepare the dining room for or shall I just return with the food here?"

The princess gave her a smile, "Send it over here, if it isn't any trouble of course."

"None at all your highness," the girl replied, "I'll get right on it."

Zelda thanked her as she closed the door and turned to her two guests. "Wow Zelda," Midna said coming once again from out of the shadows, "these people really do care for you." Zelda nodded in agreement.

"Unlike most rulers, I care about Hyrule and I especially care for its people."

"Then you make a good ruler," Link said as he too stepped out of hiding. No one argued that point.

Since the maid brought Zelda more than enough food for herself, she gave some to Midna and Link as they formed a circle and ate mostly in silence. Link was surprised at how much he missed food, he wolfed everything down faster than he'd ever done and loaned for more after he was finished.

"And now," Zelda said as she finished her helping, "let's see if we can find a reverse spell and turn Link back to normal."

"Aw," Midna said, "well, it was fun while it lasted." Soon the three each grabbed a handful of spell books, set them down and spent most of the night skimming through them with the hopes of finding a way to revert Link to the way he was before. Still, Link wondered what could've happened to the master sword, and he knew for certain that that question was also burning in Zelda's head as well.

**A/N: So Link's back in action! And now the fun really begins!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry I took so long, but a long car ride and a computer really does wonders don't it?**

**Chapter 4**

**Retrieving the Master Sword:**

The morning sun poured through the window of the princesses chambers, thus waking said person up. Zelda lifted her head from the book she used as a pillow and a small smile formed at seeing the scene before her. The imp Midna was curled up in a ball, an open book in front of her, and a blanket spread around her small body. The small boy Link however, was snoring loudly, three books open in front of him and about to fall off the desk. When he did, he hit the floor with a loud thud and yelped in surprise, causing the imp to open one eye and let out a yawn. "Morning Zelda, Link." She said getting (or floating) up.

"Good morning to you Midna," Zelda responded getting up and offering a hand to Link, who was rubbing his head. "and good morning to you too, Link."

"Thanks Zelda." He said getting up and stretching his arms. "Wow," he said looking at the once clean room, "this place is a mess."

"No kidding," Midna agreed, "and all this work and we've accomplished nothing." She sighed and sat on a pile of books. "Not even one spell in any of these books that could help us."

"We'll just have to try harder," Zelda sighed and gasped as she realized what time it was, "The counsel men must be growing impatient right about now." Quickly she brushed her hair and made herself presentable.

"Well I guess we both have it bad," Midna said sighing, "having to deal with the chairmen isn't a walk in the park either."

Zelda groaned, "Tell me about it."

"And you know what the worst part of it is?" both princesses said at once, "I'd wished they'd all be dead!" They stopped and looked at each other, "Wait, you hate them that much too?" Then they looked at Link who was trying to surpass a chuckle.

"Well," Zelda sighed, "I guess it's time for the princess of Hyrule to be, once again, criticized by a bunch of fat, old men who would sit back and watch the land fall." Zelda looked and sounded as if she would rather do anything else, be someplace else, and ready to behead any of the old geezers if they so much as looked at her.

As Zelda left the room, Link snapped. "Damn the goddesses!" he yelled kicking one of the books on the ground. Midna's head was working out a solution when she noticed something she hadn't before.

"Link, where is the master sword?" she asked him. Link stopped and sighed, beginning to calm down.

"Wish I knew," he said honestly, "had it after I defeated Ganondorf, but when I awoke, it was gone." Link sat down and watched the imp, her facial expressions clearly showing her mind at work. One of the best things about Midna was her quick thinking. It had gotten Link and herself out of tough situations before, so the boy hoped she could do it again.

She stood still for a while, like a statue whose face frowned and twitched occasionally. Link had no idea what was running through her mind and after a while, he began to lose hope. That is, until he saw that a smile was beginning to form on her face and her eyes shining in victory. "That's it!" she cried, snapping her tiny fingers, "Don't you see Link, the cure is what you're missing!"

"I don't understand." The boy said giving her a puzzled look, Midna rolled her eyes and sighed.

"You're looking for the master sword, right?" She began slowly, the boy nodded. "And the master sword is the ultimate weapon against evil, right?" Once again, the boy nodded. "And if say, Ganondorf placed a spell on you, don't you think the master sword has the power to reverse it?" Finally Link started to get the picture. *Link, Link, how would you survive without my help.* Midna thought grinning.

"Wait Midna," Link said giving her another puzzled look, "I thought that once Ganondorf was dead, you'd return to your true form, why are you still…like this?"

"Guess it just wasn't enough to break the curse…that's why I came here in the first place, to find a cure myself. I can't rule over the twilight realm as an ugly imp." Link nodded, in the end it seemed, both were looking for a way to return to their former selves. Midna then looked at Link with fear in her eyes, "Link," she said in a tone that was both serious and fearful, "Ganondorf is dead…isn't he?"

"Of course he is," Link replied, "why…wait, you're not thinking…"

"Maybe, I mean there is a possibility, that he…"

"No…no way, I struck him down…no one could survive their heart getting pierced." There was a long silence afterwards. Link stood up with new resolve, "We've got to find the master sword, now more than ever." Midna nodded, and at that moment the boy stomach growled loudly, causing him to turn a light shade of red. "Guess I'm still hungry." Link said scratching his dirty blonde hair.

"How could you not be," Midna laughed, "you've been asleep for more than half a year." The Twili floated beside him, "I'll sneak around to the kitchen and get us some food."

"How are you going to…" Link began, but soon remembered that she had a place to store items, he nodded and opened the door for her.

Being a Twili, Midna was able to hide in the shadows of objects at will, thus staying hidden was a lot easier. While making her way downstairs and into the kitchen to fetch food, Midna couldn't help but notice that some sort of commotion was taking place. A group of guards were escorting, or trying to escort, a young man from the dining hall to what looked like the armory, with the princess trying to keep up. Midna didn't get to look at the young man's face and paid no attention to it, realizing she'll expose herself if she followed them.

She held her breath as another guard, one that looked almost as old as Link with light brown hair and blue eyes, almost bumped into her. He was too busy swearing under his breath whilst covering his bloody nose with a handkerchief, a large bruise was on his left cheek. Other than that, Midna entered the kitchen unnoticed.

Midna had never been inside the castles kitchen, when she entered, she was amazed at how much food there was. Enough to fill a small army or keep everyone in the place filled for months. The cook, a small round man, and his assistant seemed to be discussing something that happened earlier. Midna listened on as she quietly took a bit of everything. "…that young lad seems to be healing up nicely." The cook said almost in relief, chopping some ingredients and tossing them into a boiling pot.

The other man nodded, "Did you see how much he ate?" he asked, "Great Din he's got an appetite!"

"Aye," the cook agreed, not noticing Midna take a bit of goat meat from the plate behind him, "least someone 'round here besides the princess appreciates my cooking."

The other man laughed, "Heard he came from the west, must be crazy to brave those roads, they're crawling with monsters." He sighed and began sampling the food, "Wish I was as brave as him sometimes."

"Between you and me," the cook whispered to him, "Hyrule's royal army needs more men like him. I'd sign him up any…what's wrong with you?" He asked the man who was staring dead ahead, his face white with fear.

"T-the food," he said in a low voice, "it-it just disappeared!" The cook just laughed and returned to his duties while the other man tried to convince him.

Midna returned quickly and, after eating with Link, decided to leave now. "Should Zelda need to contact us, she could do it through my empathy link." Link nodded and soon enough both were transported to Hyrule fields.

Now that it was day time, Link could see that not many monsters roamed the fields. Link wished that Epona was with them, she would've loved to gallop over the lush green fields. He almost picked up a piece of grass and played the song that she loved, one that would make her run to his side, but kept walking aimlessly with Midna hiding in his shadow.

Along the way, Link came across a strange looking boy. It wasn't the way the he walked with a furious pace that struck him as odd, no; it was his hair that stuck out like a sore thumb. It was white as winter snow. His cloths were also weird looking. For one thing, his boots looked too big on him, and a bundle with a sword handle was on his back; another sword, similar to the one commonly wielded by Hylian knights, hung loosely at his side.

Something happened as Link and the stranger bumped into each other. The symbol on Links hand began to glow faintly as was blasted into a vision.

*What the…where am I?* Link thought checking the surroundings before him; this was defiantly a temple he had never seen before. As his eyes scanned the temple, he saw the last thing he wanted to see. A bloodied and beaten Ganondorf stood before two massive doors that were slowly opening. "G-Ganondorf," Link couldn't believe his eyes, "You're alive!?" However, it appeared the evil wizard could nether see or hear him. As the doors continued to open, mist began to come out of it. Soon, two crimson red eyes could be seen inside the otherwise pitch dark room. Ganondorf kneeled before it until his beard touched the soft earth.

"It is done," he said in a hoarse voice, "just as I promised it would be."

"_And you are sure there is no one left to stop my return to this world?" _ A voice that caused Link's heart to race spoke.

"The guardian was dealt with," the Gerudo answered, "although, he remains alive." He said the last part in a menacing tone, "As for the bearer of courage, he remains in a deep sleep. So I assure you, there is no one left to stop you." Ganondorf stood up then, "And now, it is time you uphold your end of the bargain."

"_Be warned, I am still skeptical about giving my powers to a mortal." _

Ganondorf's lips twisted into a snarl, but he soon regained himself. "Was this not the reason you sought me out?" he asked in a neutral tone, when he received no answer, he continued, "Are you doubting my loyalty?"

_"Then what would you do if I granted you your wish? More importantly, what will happen if you fail?" _To this, the man gave a cruel smile and stepped through the giant doors, but not before turning and staring straight into Link's ocean blue eyes.

Link jerked back as the vision ended and found himself staring at the white haired teen; mirroring his confused expression. "What happened?" Midna whispered in his ear, "You spaced out for a second."

Link waited until the stranger was out of earshot and disappeared into the Kokori forest, he watched as he had his hand on one of the swords hilt, but he made no attempt to draw it on a (seemingly) defenseless child. It was a warrior's instinct that Link was all too familiar with. "I-it's nothing to worry about, let's keep moving."

"Ok," Midna said not fully convinced, "whatever you say Link." It wasn't until she noticed that two guards that were headed away from Faron woods did she halted the boy. "Listen," she gestured towards the two men.

"We found that girl that went missing last night, came back at about twilight." One of them said as they continued along the path.

"The mayor seemed relived, but why was she was going towards Lake Hyila at that hour?" the other asked

"Beats me," the first one shrugged, "either way we have to be keeping an eye out, we can't let those children just wander off past the forest."

"Do you think…" Midna asked the boy, both nodded their heads and looked back.

"Lake Hylia."

Link raced towards his new destination as fast as he could and was practically out of breath when he reached the lakeside. It was just as he remembered it was. Link looked at his hand, the symbol glowed faintly, a sure sign that the master sword was near. As he drew nearer to the water, the glowing increased. He sighed, "Looks like it's at the bottom and with this tiny body, there's no way I can bring it to the surface."

"Hang on," Midna said; revealing herself, "maybe I can-"

"Help…Help me…" a voice groaned nearby, "someone…anyone…." Both turned to see a young Zora out on the shoreline. He appeared to be injured. Both rushed over to its side, "W-who are you?" it asked slowly.

Link looked at Midna and in a second, she pulled a red potion out of thin air. "A friend," Link said as he helped the Zora sit up, "drink." He stated putting the bottle to its lips. A few moments later the Zora's wounds were beginning to heal.

"Thank you, you've done me a great kindness stranger," It said as it began to stand, "Is there any way I can repay you?"

"Actually," Midna said, "there is." She pointed towards the lake, "There is…my friend here dropped his sword in there, do you mind getting out of the water?" The Zora nodded and jumped into the water.

After about five minutes, the Zora returned clutching the master sword in its sheath. "Do you really think this will work?" Link asked Midna as he took baby steps towards it.

The Twili shrugged, "Let's hope so." Slowly, Link drew the sword, a metallic ring could be heard as a golden light consumed him. When Link emerged, he was once again an adult. Both the Zora and Midna looked in awe.

There were many feelings Link was going through at the moment, happiness for the most part, he however, did not have time to register them as an agonizing scream pierce through the quiet land.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: The ending to the last chapter...yeeah...I didn't really like, but I hope this chapter makes up for it. I really enjoyed writing this one, sooo MERRy CHRISTMAS to all and to all a good night!**

**Chapter 5:**

**Step into the Light:**

Castle town, it would seem, always had some sort of commotion going on. Good or bad, right or wrong, something exciting just had to happen. The bloodied knight wearing foreign clothing was no exception. When he arrived, the guards in the area instantly became alarmed. The strange clothing he wore coupled with the fact that he arrived from the west, an area restricted due to the overpopulation of monsters, instantly got everyone's attention.

However, the youth seemed not to mind his wounds or the town's people glaring at him, some with frightened and concerned looks, and others with sick, disgusted stares. He just continued walking in a sort of limping state, ignoring everyone else. His eyes however, wondered around freely examining the world around him.

A little girl, trembling, walked up to him. "Are you hurt mister?" she asked him as she saw the sorry shape he was in. Before he could answer her, a woman, her mother he presumes, pulled her back.

"Get away from him sweetheart," she said to the child, never taking her eyes off the youth, "his kind isn't welcomed here." She nearly spat the words out. This made the young man stop in his tracks. What was everyone's problem? The majority of the people he had come in contact with were glaring daggers at him, but why? And what was all that "his kind" thing? He was a Hylian just like everyone else…wasn't he? He couldn't remember much of anything at the moment, only a few things.

After continuing to walk aimlessly for another ten minutes, the youth was stopped by three other men near Telma's bar. It was obvious that they were whispering about him. Probably wondering where he got his wounds, or, more than likely, insulting the color of his hair. "Seems our friend here's a bit lost," One of them said, eyeing him from head to toe. "because last I checked, scum like him ain't allowed here."

"Is this a joke?" another asked, clutching the handle of a dagger tightly, "Don't you know where you are?" The youth only shook his head, before he could move on however; the dagger was thrown inches next to his face. The other men cursed at him under they're breaths.

"Ya that's right keep walkin!" one of them yelled at him as he was leaving, "and don't think we won't be watching you!"

By the time he noticed that he was leaving a trail of blood, he was already at the castle steps. The guards outside let him in despite his half dead appearance, and the fact that the princess of Hyrule was meeting with its counsel men.

Princess Zelda had spent all night looking through her spell books in vain. It didn't really matter since they had found virtually nothing to help Link return to his adult form. The thoughts of how long she would be able to keep that up and hide Link were swimming in her head as the men in front of her spoke. However, all the events that were going on in the throne room halted as the doors suddenly opened to reveal a seriously injured young man. And as if on cue, the counsel men left the room.

There was dead silence as he made his way towards Zelda, his knees shaking from the blood loss. The princess got a good look at his features. He was as tall as Link was in his adult form; his brown eyes were examining everything in the room, and then they settled on her. His hair was white as snow despite him looking as young as she was, and his clothing…where had she seen them before? Why were they so familiar? Before he reached her, he collapsed a few feet from Zelda.

At that moment, Zelda didn't care how a princess should have acted; she rushed over to the youth's side. "Are you alright?" she asked the barely conscious boy, "Here, let me help you stand." Zelda didn't notice how it looked to everyone else, or the stares they were shooting her.

"What's this?" Zelda froze as she heard a cold and menacing voice. She barely had enough time to react as she saw Roy violently kick the bleeding boy to the ground with no concern or remorse. "How dare you heathen!" he said with another kick, "How dare you lay a hand on the Princess of Hyrule!" The other guards rushed over to hold him back. "You are filth!" The next thing everyone heard was a loud _SLAP!_ That echoed throughout the throne room.

To say Zelda was upset would be an understatement. This boy was bleeding to death, perhaps the lone survivor of a bloody and violent raid. He needed medical attention. And Roy, he just walks in like he own the place, like he owns _her_, and instead of helping the poor soul, adds to his pain. "And you call yourself a knight, let alone man." With those words, the princess took the injured and left the presence of the shocked apprentice, and the courtroom.

The teen woke with a start. He was in a very luxurious room with sunlight pouring out the windows. He noticed that his wounds were treated and bandaged; someone must have done it while he was asleep. His sides ached from that beating he received just before he blacked out, but he knew well enough that things like that fade away, just like his memory did. He reached for the pitcher of water left on the nightstand next to him and gulped most of it down.

"You're awake," a soft voice said next to him, he turned slowly to see the princess taking a seat next to the bed, "I was beginning to worry about you…you lost a lot of blood."

Now Zelda could get a better look at him, and she had to admit, he was quiet a looker. His skin tone was tanner than the average Hylian, but not to the point of being bronze like the Gerudo. His eyes were also strange; they were dark, very dark. His hair was pure white, like the snow that fell in the winter, she wondered if it were a source of ridicule. He was also less built then she first thought, sure he had a six pack, but it was a wonder how he could carry that heavy bundle on his back.

"Did…did you bandage my wounds?" he asked the princess, she nodded slowly with a smile.

"Yes. I my name is Zelda, can you tell me yours?"

The teen nodded, but looked as he was lost in thought for a second. "My name is…" it looked as if he couldn't find the right words, "huh…I can't remember for some reason."

"Well," Zelda thought for a second, "what did your parents call you?"

"…I can't remember that either…actually…I can't remember my parents at all." He knit his brows, clearly frustrated by all of this.

"Hmmm….how about…Ike?" the boy stared at her for a second, "What," she said with a small smile, "you look like an Ike."

"If you want to give me a name," he said, "you can call me that."

Ike began to get up, but Zelda stopped him, "please rest," she insisted, "at least until I can bring you food."

"I feel fine your highness," Ike said, remembering his manners, "but I appreciate your concern."

Zelda sighed, "Don't strain yourself too much Ok?"" she said helping him up, "wouldn't want you to reopen your wounds." She then gestured towards some items next to a corner, "That was everything you were carrying. I hope you don't mind, but I took a look at the letter in the pocket it said something about heading to Kokori forest."

Ike nodded and slowly got up. Zelda let out a small gasp at the sight of his back. Anyone would tell you automatically that the boys back was covered in tattoos, however, this was not the case and Zelda knew it. Those were markings, and if she remembered correctly, every male Skyian had them. But this was impossible since Skyians were only myth, or so Zelda was led to believe.

"Is something wrong Zelda," Ike asked putting down his sword, "you look like you've seen a ghost."

"It's nothing," she half lied, "come on, I'll show you the dining room." She led him downstairs and into a large room that seated about 25 people. Zelda spoke with a few guards, occasionally gesturing towards Ike's direction. And when all was said and done, Ike found himself surrounded by plates filled with food. Once he remembered his growling stomach, he ate almost everything without looking down once.

As he was eating, Ike saw Roy enter the room out of the corner of his eye. He said nothing to him, only stared at him eat until he put his fork down. Ike glared angrily at the man for a few seconds, until without warning, hit him in his nose. "What'd you do that for you bastard!" Roy asked, blood flowing from his nose, covering his fingers.

"It's called getting even!" Ike replied, "Next time think twice about kicking a guy while he's dying!" Roy looked around; all the guards were speechless, as if someone had committed a sin. But no one said anything to the white haired teen.

"Damn you…" Roy muttered under his breath. Another guard accompanied by Captain Hector approached them. They gestured for Ike to follow, and so he did.

While walking down to the armory, Ike felt strange, as if the shadows were glaring at him, as if he was being watched. Soon he was led to another room and the feeling went away.

*Remember what Zelda told you and speak to whoever's in charge in Kokori forest.* the thought repeated in Ike's head. He was now traveling Hyrule fields at a hurried pace. Armed with one of the armories best swords and with more than enough food for the trip, Ike made his way towards his dentation. His head was still trying to fill in the missing blanks of his identity and between that and remembering the directions to the forest; he almost didn't see the young boy that crossed paths with him shortly after.

A surge of energy ran up Ike's spine as he turned to face the young lad. Ike never thought he'd see someone wear so much green in his life. The boy was around eleven or twelve in age, had ocean blue eyes and shaggy dirty blonde hair that was covered by his green cap. He seemed to be staring at him with a shocked or confused expression that eerily mirrored his own.

*He's just a boy,* Ike thought as he saw his expression change for a mere second, *Still, that strange sensation…what was all that about?* As Ike continued onward, he gripped his swords handle. He didn't see a reason to draw it against the boy; he just felt he needed to be ready for anything.

Ike swore he was lost. It all looked the same to him, and still no village in sight. He spotted a shady area and figured it was a perfect time to take a rest. Ike would've fallen asleep had it not been for a cry for help. Quickly, he gathered his equipment and raced towards it, not noticing he headed towards Ordon.

Colin backed away in fear. He was going towards spring to look for Ilia, who had been sad since Links mysterious disappearance, instead she found a woman crying near it. As Colin slowly walked to see what was wrong, he began to notice the woman for what she really was. Her sharp teeth were dripping saliva and her nails quickly turned to talons. He failed to notice that the soldiers had not returned and the town was left unguarded. Colin's eyes widened in fear as he saw Talo nearby; he was slowly reaching for a nearby tree branch in an attempt to subdue the creature that was slowly moving towards him.

Colin shut his eyes as the creature lunged at him, then he heard it roar in agony. When Colin opened his eyes, he saw someone in front of him. "Sorry lady," Ike said as he drew his second sword and took his stance, "If you want this kid for breakfast, your ganna have to go through me."

Ike gestured for Colin to find a safe spot. Colin didn't need to be told twice, and ran to join Talo nearby, the she-demon watching his every move. "Hey!" Ike shouted at it, causing it to look at him, "Your fight is with me, the children are of no concern to you." As if in response, the creature gave an inhuman shriek and lunged at him.

Ike barely blocked it in time and slashed mercilessly at it with both swords. The creature was bleeding from all over, but it didn't seem to care. It grappled Ike and tried to bite him, but with a kick, Ike sent it back. "So much for if it bleeds you can kill it." Ike muttered to himself as the she-demon got to its feet.

"Talo," Colin said in almost a whisper, both boys were holding their breaths as Ike and the monster were locked in a fierce fight. The other boy looked at Colin who was staring at the warrior with two swords, "Is it just me, or does he remind you…of Link?"

The other boy nodded and continued to look on, "He sure fights like him."

The monster began to blindly slash at Ike, who blocked most of them as his mind was racing for a solution. As fresh blood dripped from his open wounds, Ike threw one of the swords to the ground and looked the monster in the eyes, voicing his challenge.

The thing screeched and charged at him, but Ike's reflexes were quicker. Quickly, Ike elbowed it and kicked it to the ground. Ike stomped on the fallen monster until it would not move. Before Ike left, he saw the thing twitch and immediately buried his sword on its back. It let out an agonizing scream that sounded like a woman's that probably could've been heard all the way to Castle town.

Before Ike could react he heard footsteps behind him, and when he turned, he had a sudden feeling that he knew the man that stood before him.

**A/N: Next Chapter: Link Vs. Ike! place your bets!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I did this quicker than I expected! Hope you like this fight!**

**Chapter 6**

**Link vs. Ike (round one):**

Link stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes went from the body lying on the dirt floor in a pool of blood then to the white haired teen holding the bloody sword. Link locked eyes with him; in them he saw utter darkness. Gripping the master sword tightly, Link charged at him.

*This can't be…* Ike thought as he saw the man that stood before him. *It's that boy I saw earlier…I'm sure of it!* He had the same green clothes and cap, even the hair was the same. *What the hell did he do to himself?* Ike saw that his opponents eyes flickered with anger, then, without warning, he sprinted towards him with clear murderous intent. "Wait a minute," Ike said holding his hands in surrender, "you don't under-" before he could finish, Ike rolled out of the way just before his opponent did a downward thrust with his sword. Ike retrieved his other sword from the ground and took his stance just a few feet away from Link.

*Damn it,* Link thought as he readied his shield, *I forgot the guys got two swords.*

"Quit your worrying," Midna's voice hissed in his ear, "like you said he's got two swords, that means either he's just a brute who uses all strength and no brain, or, he's too agile to need a shield." Midna stepped out of Link's shadow, and, from afar, watched.

Link charged at Ike again, this time using his sword like a spear. Ike sidestepped out of the way and brought one of his swords down on the hero. Link foresaw this and used his shield to block the attack. As soon as Ike was open, Link took his chance and, using his shield, knocked him to the ground, knocking one of his swords away.

Following the sword with his eyes, Link looked to the side where the sword had landed. He realized his mistake when he felt Ike's foot on the side of his face. *This guy's quicker than he looks.* Link thought massaging his jaw with his free hand. This time it was Ike who charged at Link. Before Link brought the master sword to his neck, Ike caught it with his free hand.

Ike winced as warm blood began running down his hand and on to the master sword; a deep cut was also left. "Damn…it…" he muttered under the pain, he raised his sword, but Link head-butted him with all his strength (hurting himself in the process) and stopped him.

The badly damaged hand had no immediate effect on Ike, so much so that he simply grabbed the sword with that hand, leaving the undamaged one as his free hand. Link didn't even see what hit him next, only that Ike stood behind him with fresh blood at the tip of his blade. Seconds later, he felt a sharp pain on his shoulder blade, and realized he was bleeding uncontrollably. "You really shouldn't have head-butted me ya know," remarked the white haired teen examining his sword, "that dulled your senses for a few seconds," he smirked, "and I just couldn't help myself."

Link grunted, but managed to left his sword up, "Like…this is ganna make a difference…I can still fight…"

Ike's grin grew wider, "You really got guts you know that? Picking a fight with a total stranger like this, I'm impressed."

Link's eyes darted with anger, "And you, murdering an innocent women in the open?"

Ike snorted, "Woman? That thing was anything but a human being."

Link gripped the master sword tighter until it almost hurt his hand, "You sick bastrad!" They're swords met and the sound of grinding metal filled the entire forest.

From they're hiding spot, Talo and Colin watched open mouthed. It was Link, the Link that had gone missing unexpectedly, and he was fighting the white haired teenager that saved their lives from that thing. But neither of them dared interrupt their deadly dance of blades and skill.

Midna had also been quiet this whole time. She was speechless in fact. At first it seemed pretty obvious that Link would be the victor of this fight, but now, both Link and his opponent were fighting in an almost even pace. "Come on wolf boy," she whispered, "stay alive, don't die on me."

Link was running out of energy now, his opponent was fast. But, he noticed, the wounded hand was becoming a problem for him. His attacks were becoming sluggish, slower, and more reckless. What's more, the pain was also taking its toll, but like himself, he was really good at hiding it.

Ike pretended the pain was not there, *what's that sword made of?* the question rolled in his head as he dodged Link's counter attack and just barely evading Link's spin attack. He then saw what he was looking for, an opening. Ike raced for the other sword that lay on the dirt, and as expected, Link beat him there. What Link was not expecting was for Ike to kick him behind his legs, putting him in a kneeling position and at his mercy; the two swords at his throat.

"Now," Ike breathed heavily, clearly as worn out as much as Link was, "Are you going to let me explain myself, or are we going to continue this pointless-" Then everyone in the spring heard it, the sound of a war horn nearby. Ike released Link, and he got to his feet.

Suddenly, about three or four Bulblins, each on Bullbos and wielding clubs and flaming arrows arrived and began to attack the two swordsmen. "Well," Ike said looking at the hideous monsters in turn, "look what crawled of their dark pit." He looked at Link and nodded towards them, "You take the ones with the clubs, and I'll take out the ones with bows." Link nodded and the two scattered.

Link easily crippled the Bullbos, forcing the riders off. Meanwhile Ike had taken care of the bows, but the Bulbins ran off before he could take care of them. "Well, that takes care of-" Ike was hit by a sharp rock in his left check, leaving a dripping cut. "What the-they're throwing rocks! Primitives!" Link became aware of this once he was hit with one behind his head.

"Sharp rocks at that!" Link said as he wounded one of the Bublins who was trying to sneak around him.

"I'm on it!" Ike said as the Bublins continued their assault. Really it was over in a couple of moments.

As Ike started to leave, he heard Link stomp his foot on the dirt, "Wait, we're not finished here." He said readying his sword.

Ike shrugged, "If you say so," he drew both his swords again. "Hey, what's your name?" Ike asked out of the blue.

"My name is Link," he pointed to himself with his thumb, "and I'm the one whose ganna beat you!"

They charged at each other once again, only this time, Link had a surprise up his sleeve. As soon as Ike swung one of his swords, Link ducked just in time and talked him to the ground. Quickly Ike reached for the nearest sword and then…"Link stop!" came Midna's voice. And they both did, Links sword almost piercing Ike's eye, and Ike's at Link's neck.

"Look!" she pointed at the body of the "female" Ike had slain. It was decomposing at an alarming rate, soon, its claws and hind legs could be clearly seen.

"What is that thing?" Link asked taking a few steps back. He had fought many monsters sure, but nothing like this. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Talo and Colin scurry back to the village and realization hit him. "You saved them from that thing…didn't you?" he asked the teen still on the ground. Ike simply nodded, and Link suddenly felt guilty.

One look at the two of them and anyone could tell it had been a long and bloody fight. "Your wounds…" Link said as the teen dragged himself out of the dirt.

"I'll find a way," Ike grunted in pain, the same pain that Link was hiding, "the sick bastard always finds a way."

"Look, I'm…" Link began, but Ike stopped him.

"We got off on the wrong foot, I get it."

Link gestured to the water, "This water is special, it can heal your wounds, no matter how bad they are." He demonstrated and stepped into the cool water, "See?" He's wounds were all but gone. A part of Ike didn't trust this boy; he could strike at any moment while his guard was down. With caution, Ike followed in his example.

"Like I said before, my name is Link," he said offering his hand to the now healed teen, "and yours?"

Ike took it, "I…don't have one." He said

"Everyone has a name." Link stated

"That's not what I mean, I can't remember it, that's all…I can hardly remember a thing." Link nodded, "Call me Ike."

"Don't think this battle is done Ike, it's only postponed." Link warned with a grin. With that both Link and Ike began making their way back to Hyrule castle.

"Thought you were a goner for a second," Midna said as she crept back into Link's shadow.

The boy sighed, "Honestly,I thought I was too."

**A/N: As you can already guess, they'll fight again later on... (Sorry about the chapter being short, wanted to focus more on the fight. Let me know what you think of it.)**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: On a side note, I don't really remember what Impa was to Zelda so I might have gotten the role wrong here.**

**Chapter 7 **

**Myths and Legends:**

They walked back to the castle, Link and Midna were talking amongst themselves and Ike remained silent. Occasionally he caught either Link or the imp looking his way, probably wanting to get to know him a little better. *Good luck with that.* Ike thought sighing.

"So…your hair…?" Midna said breaking long the silence, causing Link to snicker beside her and Ike to slow his pace. "Has it always been…ya know, like that?"

"Ya...it's been like that since I could remember…" Ike answered scratching his head, "Which isn't much to begin with."

"Well, what do you remember?" Midna asked him, causing everyone to stop. Ike knit his brow together and was silent for almost five minutes.

"All I could remember is one person…and then…that gruesome image." Both Link and Midna gave him a look that told him to go on. Ike sighed, "Well, it's like I'm in this…temple…but underground. I'm in a large room with two huge doors that are as big as the room itself. Then they start opening…and then…I see myself dying. It's different every time…and more disturbing." Ike shuttered, "Could we talk about something else please?"

Midna looked at Link and saw a flash of surprise, as if he knew that place Ike was talking about. His expression changed when he caught her giving him a look that read, _"You know something don't you?"_

"Who was the man you remember?" Link asked joining the conversation.

Ike thought for a moment, "He's my…father? No…caretaker. A relative maybe…damn it, I wish I could remember more."

Link was pulled back by Midna as the trio continued they're long walk to Castle town, "Ok spit it out," she demanded, "you have an idea of what he's talking about don't you?"

Link sighed, if only she knew how much he missed her bossy attitude, but that didn't mean he had to like it. "Look it was just a weird vision ok, relax, it's nothing to worry about." *Yeah right.* Link thought to himself.

"'Just a weird vision' you say? Link you know what usually happens when you have one of those."

"I'll tell you all about it later." Link promised

"Fine." She hissed as they neared the town. Midna hide in Link's shadow as they approached the castle. Once inside, they found the princess sitting in her throne with a worried expression along with Captain Hector, Roy, and Impa, her personal bodyguard.

Part of Zelda's worries was because Link and Midna had left the castle to who-knows-where. The other was because of that dream she had, no…it was more like a nightmare than a dream. In it, Hyrule castle was burning before her eyes as a dark cloud swept overhead. Then, a cloaked man stormed in atop a jet black steed wielding a double edged sword. When Zelda tried to flee, she was cornered by creatures she had never seen. As she faced the cloaked man, her eyes widened as she realized who it was. _"You!_" she gasped at a grinning Ganondorf.

"Yes," the Gerudo answered pulling back his hood, "and soon, all of Hyrule will kneel at the feet of my master." With that he brought his sword down on her, and she wake up screaming.

However, Zelda's eyes lit up in relief when she saw Ike and…an adult Link? Zelda was overjoyed, confused, but overjoyed none the less that Link was back to normal. She shot him a questioning look to which Link answered simply by slowly taking the master sword out of its sheath, filling the room with its metallic ring. She nodded, understanding.

Zelda gasped looking at Links torn garbs, "What happened to your clothes?" she asked as she noticed the same with Ike's.

"Don't ask." Both teens said in union.

Zelda shook her head smiling, understanding what happened between the two, "Only you Link," She waved for the two guards to leave the room and bowing, they did.

Ike shuttered noticing Impa had vanished as well, "That woman is creepy." He admitted, even he didn't need his memories to know he wasn't frightened easily. But Zelda merely smiled.

"Impa has a way of moving with the shadows," Zelda explained, "She is as silent as a shadow, but twice as deadly. And she should be, after all, she is a Sheikah." To this even Link raised a brow, he thought the Sheikah were extinct. After Link explained how he retrieved the master sword and returned to normal (Omitting the fight with Ike) Zelda headed back to her chambers with Midna following close behind.

Once inside, Midna sighed, thinking only of curling up into a ball in a nice, warm bed and sleep. "Looks like someone had quite a day." Zelda said sitting in the table stacked with books. Midna only nodded and collapsed on the bed.

"You have no idea how long those two went at it," Midna yawned, "they were lucky they were by that spring, otherwise, they'd come back a bleeding fountain."

"And after all that work sewing up Ike's wounds." Zelda replied shaking her head.

"Oh yeah, I noticed the bandages," Midna yawned, "probably saved…his…life…" A few moments later, all Zelda could hear was Midna's soft, even breathing. She had fallen asleep on the bed. Zelda let out a small yawn and wrapped a blanket around the imp, then she returned to the table and followed Midna's example. "…elda….ake up….ZELDA!" The small imp's voice startled the princess, Zelda sighed when she realized it was only her.

"What is it Midna?" she asked surprising a yawn, before the Twili could answer; one of the larger books hit the ground, making her jump. Midna stared at it for a long time.

"**Hyrule Myths and Legends**," She read, following the title with her small fingers. She turned to Zelda, "What's this about?" she asked curiously.

Zelda looked at it and smiled warmly, "This is one of the oldest books I happen to have," she said picking it up and placing it on the table. "This was one of the many books my mother read to me as a child and one of my favorites to this day."

"May I see it?" Midna asked eyeing it once more. Zelda nodded and Midna took the book next to the bed. The imp flipped a few pages and in minutes, she was absorbed into the back. She read the legends of the golden goddesses who created the lands,(which by now she knew by memory) about the Hyrule civil war and how it ended mysteriously, and, the one that interested her the most, of the ocarina of time, an old relic that was handed down by the royal family from generation to generation, it too disappeared mysteriously. As Midna skimmed through the book, there was one picture in particular that caught her eye. "Wait a minute…" she muttered looking at the illustration carefully, "This…this is the thing Ike killed in Ordon."

"Let me see," Zelda stood up and went over to Midna, taking the book and stared at the picture. "This creature is a siren," she said with knit brows, "this monster lures unsuspecting souls in any way possible, then when it has its prey trapped, it reveals itself for what it really is. Mostly, the victims are men, but there have been incidents involving children." She sighed putting the book down on the bed, "But…this can't be…those types of monsters…are just myths." But then again, Ike was a Skyian, and there was no doubt about it, but they're culture, religion, and history was all a legend.

Zelda's eyes widened in fear, she snatched the book from the bed and furiously began turning the pages like mad. "Uhh…Zelda…are you…alright?" Midna asked seeing how nervous the princess had become. "Zelda…if you're feeling-"

"…Oh Goddesses…" Zelda murmured, pure fear and dread dripped from her words, and Midna could swear she could hear Zelda's beating heart echo throughout the room. Quickly, she rose from the study and went down the corridors at a hurried pace. Midna looked at the book lying on the table for a few seconds, stuffed it where she stored important items and hurried off to catch up to Zelda.

Link was the first to awaken. He and Ike (Strange as it seems) had fallen asleep on the throne room floor, and the Hylian had heard Zelda's footsteps echoing down the corridor. (And Midna's protests helped out too) He hastily grabbed his sword and shield and caught up to them. Sighing, Ike arose, stretched, and just barely caught up with them. "Why all the rush?" he yawned as they exited to the stables.

"I don't know," Midna shrugged, a worried tone in her voice, "but Zelda's really starting to freak me out."

"Zelda," Link said gently, "please, tell us what's wrong." Zelda however, didn't hear him, and kept murmuring her prayers to the three goddesses. She mounted her steed and galloped towards the west.

"Has she gone insane?" Midna asked as the white horse disappeared into the night, "She's going to get herself killed; we have to go after her!"

"On foot," Link remarked skeptically, "There's no way we'll catch up in time."

"We will if we take the castle horses." Ike said jerking his thumb back to the stables, Link and Midna simply stared at him. "What?" he asked defensively, "It's not like we're stealing them or anything, besides, if we do nothing, the princess is as good as done for."

"True," Midna said turning to Link, "it really can't be helped. Come on." With those words said, two more horses were seen leaving the castle racing towards the monster infested west part of Hyrule.

Although her steed was reluctant to go any further, Zelda urged it on. Despite the amount of monsters in her path, the princess ignored most of them. Her most important goal was to reach the temple in one piece, and before anyone else did. *I pray the myths are not true,* she thought to herself, as her horse sped away, *If they are…goddesses help us all…*

"So what happened in there Midna?" Link asked, riding ahead of Ike on a light brown horse (Who reminded him painfully of Epona), "Why did Zelda get upset all of a sudden?" They were riding in an almost starless night barely able to see a thing. At this point, they had chosen to completely ignore the monsters that crossed their paths.

"How should I know?" Midna snapped, clearly worried about her friends safety, yes, it took her this long to realize that the princess was one of the closet people she had to call a friend, the other being Link. "Do I look like a have a-the empathy link! I almost forgot I could feel part of her emotions. Let me think…oh man…"

"Well," Ike, who mounted a tan horse, asked, wiping the sweat off his forehead, "what's happening, is Zelda alright or not?"

"Umm…" Midna began, unsure of how to put it in words, "To put it in simple words, Zelda thinks, no she _knows_ that the world as we know it might come to an end."

"How," Link asked, urging his horse to go faster, "could something truly be that powerful?" He shivered at the very thought of everything that he cherished being killed by this menace.

"Whatever or whoever it is," Midna said in a dark tone, "it's surely stronger than Ganondorf." Link gulped at the idea of someone stronger, more evil, than the king of the enchanted thieves, it sounded impossible to him.

Ike had no idea who this Ganondorf person was, but from the sound of it, he and Link had an old grudge going on. *Great,* he thought to himself, *it's clear the goddesses are trying to torture me for…something I did wrong.*

Link rode on, now certain that Hyrule wasn't the only thing in trouble. "I promise to you Zelda," Link said as he rode into the darkness of the night, "I swear on my life, I won't fail Hyrule…or the world!"

After an eternity of being in the darkness, Link, Midna, and Ike arrived at a dark forest, which neither Link nor Midna recall ever exploring. The horses would not dare go any further into the heart of the forest, so the two swordsmen had to end the trip on foot. They came across a temple which looked older than most Links had ever seen and found Zelda's horse panicking at its steps. Once inside, they found themselves in a room that, for the most part, matched the one in Ike's vision. And then they saw Zelda, weeping silently in front of a pair of open doors.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I know, I know...I took a long, but theirs a good reason for that...I wrote another stoy. Yup, and I'll be doing that one along with this one at the same time...so if your intrested, visit my profile and check it out. Anyway, on to the story.**

**Chapter 8**

**The First Step (A new adventure begins):**

"ZELDA!" Link darted towards her and embraced her in a tight hug. Midna floated over to her with a mixture of relief and anger. Ike hesitated at first, but eventually joined the two at Zelda's side.

"I don't know whether to hug you or slap you," Midna said sighing, "I mean what were you THINKING; coming over here is practically suicide."

"It doesn't matter now," she said below a whisper, "I would have preferred to end my life now then to endure the agony everyone will soon suffer." Link gently lifted her face and they're eyes locked.

"Zelda," the hero said gently, stroking her braided hair as he spoke, "don't think that way. Whatever this threat is, we'll beat it, no matter how strong it is, we'll find a way."

"I wish it were that simple," she sighed wiping the tears away, "but once He has been released, there is little we can do." Zelda broke away from the embrace and stood up, staring at the darkness behind the doors. "We must head into the deepest part of the temple, to see if this abomination truly has been freed from his prison."

They walked through the doors slowly; they're footsteps echoing throughout the seemingly empty temple. Link had his hand intertwined with Zelda's, and Midna and Ike walked a few steps behind them. "You never told us," Link began, "what got you so spooked. Who is 'He'?" Zelda took a deep breath and sighed, stopping in her tracks.

"He," the princess began, "has many names: the possessor, soul eater, the darkness, the thunder demon. Before the goddesses created life and order, He was the reason for all the chaos in the land below. Such a monstrosity could not be allowed to walk the earth, but even the divine power of the three goddesses was not enough to destroy him. So, they went with the only other option they had, seal him for all eternity. And so, beneath this temple, the great Temple of Time, where the master sword was once said to have been hidden, lies the first clue on how to break the seals. The name of this unholy being…is Alastor."

Once he heard the name, Ike remembered something of the past. "Wait," he said slowly, "This wouldn't happen to be the Alastor of myth…right?" The princess only nodded with a serious expression on her face. Ike tried in vain not to burst out laughing, "Seriously now," he asked through his laughter, "we're talking Alastor, the big bad god of darkness?" Again, she nodded slowly, "The evil spirit of the corrupted land? The bane of evil, is that the guy who we're talking about?" Zelda nodded a third time, the seriousness never left her face, "That's just an old story to get little misbehaving kids scared out of they're wits." The youth said as he supported himself with the wall.

"I see nothing even remotely funny about this Ike," She stated with an irritated voice, "and how is it you know of him when you barely remember anything about yourself?"

Ike ceased his laughter, "The name triggered something ok?" he said now dead serious, "The only reason I know about him is because _I_ was one of the many kids that actually believed that nonsense."

*It makes sense,* Zelda thought to herself, *Alastor is of Skyian mythology.* She turned towards the opened doors, "Well, believe me or don't believe me," she said to no one in particular, "If we don't hurry to the prison, we'll not live to see tomorrow."

Throughout the course of their expedition, while everyone was busy arguing, Midna constantly kept referencing the book she took with her, most notably, the section on Alastor and the Skyians. Supposedly, every generation or so, one skyian knight would be chosen to guard Alastor's prison; however, not just any random knight could complete the task. Alastor would do and say anything to be freed, to the point of using a human as a pawn, promising him things and killing him when he served his purpose. For this reason, the chosen guardian would have to be able to block out Alastor completely, from his mind and otherwise.

Another noteworthy thing she noticed was that they're new companion, Ike, had most of the characteristics of a Skyian. The tan skin, the dark iris, and the cloths in particular (Although she wasn't sure where the white hair came into play) were all signs of him being of Skyian bloodline. *How ironic,* she thought to herself, *He doesn't believe half of the legends in this book and he's one of them.*

They were now in a pitch black staircase leading to where Zelda believed was the place they were looking for. And because Link carried a lantern with him, they were able to see what lied ahead. They saw yet another pair of gigantic doors that were opened open, "This is what I was afraid of." Zelda sighed as she beckoned the others to follow closely, Link and Ike with they're swords at ready.

"Does this mean that…" Link began afraid to know the answer, Zelda nodded her head slowly.

"I'm afraid so," she said in a quiet voice, "now all that is left is to wait for the end."

"So, we're not going to look around the room then?" Midna asked floating in front of the group and jerking her thumb to the open doors. "It's kept locked for a reason, isn't it?" she asked the three people giving her blank expressions. Rolling her eyes and sighing, she continued, "There might be something there to help us stop this."

Link looked at Zelda then at Ike, and nodded as the group proceeded into the room.

Once inside, they found it quiet small, the only thing in it was a large worn out paper that seemed to glow on a small table adorned with candles. Link placed his lantern on the table and looked at the map carefully. "Huh, that's strange," he said scratching his head, "I can't read it."

"Let me see," Zelda said stepping closer to it and giving a puzzled expression after seeing it for a while, "I don't understand."

"Looks like a bunch of swirly lines to me." Ike said scratching his white hair and shrugging, "I don't get what we're supposed to be looking at here."

"Here," Midna said floating next to Link, "let me see." She stared at the lines just like the others; the only difference was that she was beginning to see the puzzle unfold. "Hold on a sec," she said as the answer was becoming clearer, everyone stared at her in anticipation. "I get it! It's a map of Hyrule!"

Link sighed in defeat, "How in the world is that going to help us?" Steam was practically coming out of Midna's imp ears.

"If you'd let me finish," she said crossly, "you'd understand." Link crossed his arms and gestured for her to continue. "As I was saying," the Twili said clearing her throat, "It's a map of Hyrule, with several marked locations. Specifically, locations that not only indicate where we have to go to reseal Alastor's prison, but items that'll help us fight him."

"Well, count me out." Everyone turned to see Ike standing at the exit of the room, a stern look on his face and his arms crossed across his chest. "If you three want to piss an ancient death god off, be my guest; just leave me out of it."

"You can't do that," Midna snapped, "besides, I thought you didn't believe in Alastor."

Ike gave her a look that said "watch me" and began to walk away, but stopped and sighed. "Give me one reason why I can't just leave."

"Because you're part of the legend," The twilight princess said quietly, so much so that Ike barely heard her. He gave her a raised brow, "Let me show you," she said a little louder, she pointed to the bottom of the map. "It's a legend," she explained, "and it says that when an ancient evil resurfaces to bring the end, two princesses, one of light, one of darkness, will stand against it with the help of two heroes: One of many lifetimes, who bares the green tunic of courage, the other a foreigner from the sky who wields the black blade." There was a long silence before anyone spoke.

"…what are you saying?" the youth asked her, Midna sighed.

"You told us you don't remember your past," she stated, Ike slowly nodded his head, "well, you might not know it, but I've seen enough proof so far." She pointed a finger at the white haired teen, "You're a skyian." Before he could deny anything, Midna cut him off, "The tan skin, your eye color, even the clothes off your back marks you as one."

Ike scoffed, "That's all coincidence," he stated once again starting to leave; "now I'm supposed to believe I'm some nomad from the sky that the goddesses chose to fight Alastor?"

Midna stopped him before he could leave, "Let me see your back," she demanded, Ike stared at her but ultimately lifted his tunic. "See that?" she asked pointing a finger for Link and Zelda to see, "undeniable proof."

"What…the hell?" the confused boy muttered, he could only see part of his back, and even so, he saw most of the marking on his body. "What is all this? How does this prove I'm what you say I am?"

Midna made a tisk-tisk sound, "If only you've paid attention to the myths," she said shaking her head. "Those are markings," she said facing him, "not just any markings mind you, every Skyian male has them." A mischievous smile spread across her face clearly saying "I win!" as Midna turned to face the princess. "Isn't that right?"

Zelda nodded slowly, she could tell Ike was trying to deny what he just heard. "It's true Ike," she spoke with calmness, urging him to drop the argument, "only Skyians have those markings on their backs, and seeing as most people in Hyrule hate the Skyians with a vengeance, I doubt that anyone would be willing to tattoo your skin with skyian symbols."

"Great," Ike muttered slouching down on the wall, "guess that explains all the hate I've been getting since I got here."

"It's not so bad," Midna said patting him on the back, "Link here's a light-dweller, like you."

"That would mean what exactly?"

"Let's leave it at the Twili don't take too kindly to light-dwellers."

"So I'm hated by the Hylian's, _and_ the Twili?"

"Pretty much yeah," she said shaking her head.

"This day just keeps getting better and better." Ike said with sarcasm dripping from his words. Midna gave a small giggle, and Ike felt as if he should crawl under a rock and die there. *Well, least I'm not the only one hated.* "Alright, alright, seeing as I apparently am the second hero this legend speaks of, I'll help you defeat Alastor." *But I won't like It.* he added mentally.

"And seeing as I'm the only one here that can see and read the map," Midna said grabbing and storing the weathered old paper, ""I'll hang on to it."

Link, Zelda, Midna, and Ike exited the temple quicker than they entered. The first few rays of the sun were appearing in the sky. Usually, Link would welcome the new day, but now, he dreaded them, for every new one would bring them one step closer to the end. He turned to the princess, who was trying to mask her glumness. "So, Hyrule…the entire world, will Alastor really destroy it?"

Zelda sighed, "Link…all of creation, be it sooner or later, will be extinguished one day, But I have faith in you, you've faced evil made flesh before and triumphed," she looked over to Ike who was lying on the grass staring at the sky, "and this boy…he gives me the same feeling you did when I first met you. Even if I've only known him for a short period of time, I feel like I can trust him with my life. With the two of you working together, I know we'll have a chance against Alastor, god or not."

Link sighed and sat away from Midna and Ike and watched the sunrise. He noticed that whenever he was sad or discouraged, music always helped sooth his worries. So he decided to play one of his favorite melodies, the one he used to call Epona to his side. "I feel a little better already," Link mumbled to himself. Then, his heart skipped a beat when he heard the sounds of approaching hoof beats. *Could it really be…* He spun around and saw the horse he had summoned speeding towards him. "E-epona…" she stopped a few feet from Link. "Epona, it's really you!"

After they're reunion, Link and the princess mounted Epona while Ike went on foot. "So which way do we go now Midna?" Link asked as the Imp came out of Ike's shadow.

The imp made the map appear and after taking a good look at it, her eyes widened, "…far…very far…"

"What's that mean?" Ike asked her, and she almost showed him, out of instinct, before remembering she was the only one that could see the map.

"It's almost all the way to Death Mountain, that's what I mean."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Due to the HORRENDOUS amount of tests I had to study for (that will sadly begin tomorrow) I took more time than expected. Hope you guys enjoy this one.**

**Chapter 9: **

**Lair of the Illusionist: **

"All that just for this," Ike said as he stared at the somewhat burnt object that resembled a flute, "you must be joking." The youth had every intention to break the seemingly useless object into a million pieces right then and there. But apart from a feeling he got that one day that thing was going to save all their lives, and the dark looks Midna shot him, Ike did no such thing.

"Well we almost got killed getting it," Midna pointed out, "so it must mean something." Although the look that she gave it said otherwise, something told Ike that they were on the same page.

"It better be worth Link busting his arm, that could hurt us severely and you know that." He gave it to the imp to store, "Otherwise, this damn things firewood."

"Speaking of firewood, still unwilling to accept treatment for that burnt arm of yours?" she pointed towards Ike's hand that was immersed in ice water they got from a nearby village. Ike had gotten it from saving her from the fire spawn they fought near Death Mountain. When it was finally defeated by Link, who in the process injured his right arm, it left behind the mysterious flute like object.

"I already told you I feel fine." He said, and although Midna knew he was lying, she searched his eyes for any sign of falsehood in his statement. She had to admit, the teen was a master at hiding his emotions. About an hour later, Ike sighed and pounded the ground with his good hand, startling a sleeping Midna. "What's taking those two so long? We've been here for ages." He almost winced as the pain in his arm returned, but he refused to show any hint of it, and this annoyed Midna to her bones.

*He's just like…he's just like Link!* She mentally growled, *always refusing to admit that he's injured so that we won't worry about it! I swear, these two morons could be related!* Midna sighed, "Ike," she said in a tone that was too sweat, "listen to me, I will ask you nicely ONE last time, let me use my magic to heal your wounded hand." *Or else…* she mentally added with a hard scowl.

"And like I told you before," Ike said turning his head to face her, "thanks but no thanks." When Midna was about to question why, Ike answered her, "A man's pain is his own reward, simple as that."

"Who the hell told you that?" Midna demanded, her fingers begging to strangle the white haired teen in front of her. When Ike jerked his thumb towards himself, Midna lost it. "That's it!" Midna practically yelled, her claws digging into the tree trunk she was using as a bed, "So Goddesses help me Ike, I'm going over there and I'm-"

"We're back," both heard Zelda's silky voice nearby, Midna still looking ready to pounce on Ike. A few seconds later, both the hero and the princess (along with Epona, of course) found their way to the small camp they had made.

Link actually looked surprised, "and everything still in one peace." He surpassed a chuckle when he saw Midna, hacking at the trunk and trembling with anger. "What's wrong with you?"

Midna did something that resembled a growl, "Will someone please tell this…this jackass," she pointed at Ike who shot her a look, "to sit down, shut up, and get healed like good little boy."

"Is that what this is about?" Link asked walking over to him, he examined his hand and sighed, "It looks bad, and probably burns like hell too."

"Not as bad as yours," Ike muttered gesturing towards his right arm, which was in a sling made out of animal hide. Link looked at it and shrugged.

"It's not too big of a deal." he said truthfully, "That medicine women said that it'll properly heal in three days' time."

Ike scoffed, "Not a big deal? Link, I don't know if you've noticed, but you're the hero here. And wielding the sword of evil's bane helps out too." Link gave a small laugh.

"And what about you, are you doubting your own strength?" Link looked at Zelda and Midna who were going through the supplies they got from the nearby village, "I'm not worried though, I have faith in you just as Zelda does." Suddenly everyone looked at the silver haired teen, "You'll get us through the storm safely, right Ike?"

Ike stood silent for a moment, "Course," he said quietly looking at all his companions in turn, "so long as it's in my power." He turned to Midna who gave him another dark look. "Where do we go to next, oh wise map reader?" the last part was said with a tone of sarcasm.

"Well if you're really in a hurry to die," Midna said taking out the map and eying it carefully, "One of Alastor's towers is close by, and it's guarded by one of his chosen."

"Chosen?" the three asked at about the same time, Midna responded by taking out the book **Hyrule Myths and Legends** and flipping a few pages.

"It was said that Alastor had six chosen," Midna read aloud from the book, "all of them fell into his control and were corrupted based on their wishes. They were The Warrior, The Hunter, The Necromancer, The Illusionist, The Executioner, and the last is only known as Janus." Midna closed the old book and found everyone staring at her, Link and Zelda clearly impressed. "What," the imp asked, "all that came straight from the book." A devious grin spread across her face, "The same book I use to annoy Ike."

Ike flinched and shuttered as she said this. If he had to hear anymore "Did you know that…" or "Can you imagine that the Skyians actually…" Ike swore he was going to lose it. At first it seemed she was doing it to try to get him to remember something about his past, but by now, Midna could tell it annoyed the boy, so she used that to her advantage and to get her kicks.

"And speaking about snowflake," she said knowing that the nickname pissed him off too, "I think you'd better take a look at his arm." She gestured towards Zelda who stood up and examined Ike's arm, Link also got the message to restrain him should he try and get away.

"This will only hurt a bit," she promised bandaging his hand with a leaf, "after about five minutes, seeing as I don't have any proper medical supplies, Midna will use her magic to speed up the healing process."

Midna gave a fake smile that only Ike noticed, "I'll try and make it as painless as possible." She assured, but the look in her eyes told him she meant to do the opposite, "Don't worry about it Ike, this won't hurt a bit." *It's ganna hurt a WHOLE lot*

'_Do your worst, twilight princess._' Ike told her with a look, Midna only responded with a crazy grin as Zelda removed the leaf.

Midna hovered over to where the skyain was. After he slowly gave her his arm, she placed her small hands on it and leaned close to where his ear was. "Don't worry," she whispered giggling, "I intend to." Ike's eyes widened as he felt Midna dig her sharp nails into his wounded flesh. "Now think happy thoughts!" She said aloud as she began the process. Ike's screams pierced the calm vibe that went on in the forest.

"Come on Ike," Link said in between his laughter, "it wasn't that bad was it?"

Ike snatched his hand back. Link had no idea of how horrible that felt. It was worse than when he got it burned in the first place. "What's wrong?" Midna teased, "I thought a man's pain was his own reward."

"I. Hate. You." Ike said with clenched teeth.

"Aww Ike," she said ruffling his white hair, "I love you too."

"You sure it's to the east Midna?" Link asked as the imp appeared beside him, "I don't sense anything." This made her sigh and wonder if she gave them wrong directions, she didn't.

"Yes Link," she said with a tired expression on her face, she hadn't slept for about three days; none of them had. "I think I know how to read a map."

"Are you sure?" Link asked again, not meaning it as an insult or a joke.

"Look if you don't believe me, fine. But I'm telling you the tower should be-" She stopped mid-sentence as everyone saw the tower up ahead. It definitely looked ancient, but with the huge mist surrounding it, no one could tell what it really looked like. "We have to cross the creepy looking forest up ahead huh?" Midna asked staring hard at the woods before her, which seemed to be their only route to the tower. They had no choice. "Alright," she said, "that seems pretty easy."

"Right," Zelda said quietly behind her, "let's be off then." That was weird; Midna felt something stir inside the princess. She was afraid; the look in her eye and heart rate said it all. What made it worse was that that fear was slowly creeping inside Midna. She pushed the feeling away as she felt her skin tingle.

Ike looked anything but amused, a bit bored actually. Midna could relate, what's so exciting about some dark scary forest? *Been there done that.* Midna thought. From what she saw at Death Mountain, Ike was no novice at dungeon crawling; he was almost as good as Link. Still, the warrior gripped one of the swords handles, ready for anything.

The Hylian urged Epona into the mist, but the horse had no intention of going in there. "Come on girl," Link pleaded stroking the mere's white hair, "we'll only cross through this place once, after that, no more, I promise." But even Link could feel it; there was something…off about that place.

*Even Epona feels nervous,* the Twili thought to herself frowning, *Damn it, what in Naryu's name is this place?* She retreated to Ike's shadow as the group's pace slowed to baby steps. As the group neared the forest, Zelda practically latched on to Ike. *Well, what are you waiting for idiot?* Midna hissed at him silently, *Comfort her.*

"What, why?" teen asked, somewhat uncomfortable with how close the princess was.

*Can't you see she's afraid?* Midna demanded, *besides, you're big and strong aren't you?*

"Hey Zelda," Ike said quietly to the shaking princess, "its ok, Link and I'll watch over you. We'll keep you safe." He promised pulling her closer to share his warmth.

Zelda smiled, "Thank you," Ike returned the smile.

*Nice,* Midna called almost laughing, *If I didn't know any better..."

"Shut it, Midna." Was the boy's sole response, Midna stuck out her tongue and slipped back into his shadow.

Now that they were a few steps from entering, Ike felt the temperature suddenly drop. Zelda's nails dug into his skin, making him wince. "Sorry," Zelda said quietly, "It's just this place…it's not normal."

Ike sighed, "It's ok Zelda, just be careful." As they entered the forest, the group found it to be unnaturally quiet, no animals nearby, or birds chirping in the trees above, this place was dead. And the fog only seemed to get thicker and thicker as they advanced. Now even Midna felt a bit nervous without the help of Zelda. The air reminded her of when Hyrule was covered in twilight, only this time it had a mixture of dread and death weaved into it.

"Oh great," Link muttered seeing that the path ahead was forked, "guess we've got to split up then." Midna felt Zelda's heart rate increase at the mentioning of splitting up. "Can't see a thing with this damn fog in our way," Link muttered leading Epona to a stop. "Seeing as there's no other way, we'll divide ourselves up, maybe we'll cover more ground like that."

"I'll go with you." Zelda offered quickly joining him next to Epona. When he gestured for her to hop on, Zelda shook her head, "That's alright Link, I'll walk." Her tone of voice was shaky, but she tried her best to put on a brave face.

Midna appeared out of Ike's shadow and saw Zelda and Link disappear into the mist. "Well snowflake," she sighed turning her attention to the right, "I guess it's just you and me now. Come on."

Ike nodded, "Lead the way elf." He muttered without turning to her.

Midna stopped, *Elf…never heard that one before.* she grinned at him, "Good one," she said nodding her head, "I'll have to think of another one for you after we get out of here."

"_Ah, well who do we have here?" _a silky voice said upon looking at the heroes in turn, _"A Hylian warrior and a Hylian princess…interesting…and what creature is that; certainly not from  
this realm."_ When the image of a white haired swordsman appeared, the figure let out a gasp, "_Well, if it isn't the little brave skyian, I bet he still can't remember a thing…let's see if I can't, entertain my…guests."_


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: And the tests are over! means I get to update a bit faster now. I don't really like this chapter because nothing really happenes, but like the other one, it makes the story advance and the next one easier to write.**

**On a side note: Wow, this story got over 1,000 views. Didn't think it would make it this far! Thank you everyone who fav/followed this as well as everyone's whose even bothered to read this. It really makes me happy that people like this. Another side note: Title taken from the song/album by Breaking Benjamin.**

**Chapter 10: **

**Dear Agony:**

Link kept glancing towards the trees, expecting for something, anything, to jump out of hiding. He sighed when he realized that they were completely alone. How could they not be? The place was dead.

"This can't be this simple," Zelda muttered as her eyes darted from side to side, "can it?" she looked at Link who had a suspicious look on his face, the gears in his head trying to piece together this complex puzzle. "It's a trap," the princess insisted, "it must be." She let out a small yawn, causing Link to smirk.

"Or it could be that we're so dead tired that we're making things more complicated than they need to be."

Zelda sighed and returned the smile, "I would very much like to believe that." Link stopped where the soil was softer and got off Epona. "Link, what are you…you're not seriously thinking?"

"It's safe enough," Link assured spreading a blanket for the young Princess who just stood there with a crossed expression. "Come on Zel," the boy urged, a tired and wary look on his face, "I'll take first watch." Finally, the princess gave a defeated sigh and walked over to the blanket. As Link expected, Zelda fell asleep the minute she hit the floor. And exhausted as he was, Link kept true to his word and sat himself next to her, scanning the area for any signs of trouble.

"Damn this fog," Midna cursed swatting the air with her imp arms, "can it get any worse? Never mind, I don't wanna know the answer." The silver haired boy followed behind her, sighing and trying to look around. Now you'd think Ike would enjoy seeing Midna in a sour mood, but really, these woods were pissing him off to a level equal to the Twili. Besides, he knew better than to cross her now that she was angry (He learned that the hard way). The Twili suddenly turned to him and in an almost pleading voice said, "Talk to me snow-Ike, talk to me so that I can think of_ anything _but this place."

"Ok," he said sighing, "guess I should thank you for healing my arm ya know." The Twili nodded in agreement, "There's one thing I don't get though; how come you only healed my arm and not Link's?"

Midna sighed, "You want the truth or one of those white lies that someone makes up on the spot?"

"What are you saying," Ike asked arching a brow, "Do you know something I don't?"

Midna gave him a sheepish smile, "Well…you see…I-you were more of a… a practice dummy for my healing abilities…to put it lightly; Umm sorry?" Ike bit back his tongue from screaming.

"You mean to tell me you had NO IDEA what the hell you were doing to me?!" Oh, Ike was mad alright. So mad that for a second Midna thought he would explode. "What were you thinking I could've been killed!"

"Well it worked didn't it?" Midna shot back, although she knew that boy had every right to be mad at her. She would just never admit it to him. "Now I know it cures burns."

"So what do you expect me to do next," Ike asked almost in disbelief that this was the best excuses she could give him, "break an arm or a leg so you can heal Links?" The imp simply looked at him with amazement, he had silenced her, and she had no witty comeback to throw at him. The Skyian sighed, "Look forget it ok, I forgive you."

The Twili laughed, "Who says I would ask for an apology?" Ike shrugged his shoulders at her.

"Just felt like giving one, that's all." He sighed, actually surprised when he felt his boot kick a rock forward. "How far do you think Link and Zelda have made it?"

Midna closed her eyes and focused, a frown forming on her face, "They've stopped moving," she said quietly, ""Zelda's asleep, well, somewhat anyways." Ike stopped and sat down on the dirt next to her. Midna gave him a puzzled look.

"Since they're getting their beauty sleep," Ike said upon seeing the look on her face, "I suggest you do the same elf."

Midna stared at him as if he were mad; "Ike, I really think we should keep go-" She was cut off by her own yawning. Upon seeing the surprised look on her face, Ike grinned. *Ok, you win this one snowflake.*

Midna had gotten used to sleeping on the floor during her travels with Link, but she felt somewhat uncomfortable in this forest. As she curled herself into a ball on the ground, she could barely see Ike, and this bothered her. She felt isolated, as if she were the only thing alive in this otherwise dead forest. When Ike remained seated, realization hit her. "Oh no," she said floating back up to meet his gaze, "you are not standing guard Ike; you need your rest too."

"Midna, it takes-"but the imp cut him off.

"No excuses. If I sleep, you sleep." She said with her voice full of authority, "I can't have you falling asleep in the middle of a battle here."

"Midna I'm not going to sleep." Ike said in a serious tone, "you need it more than I do; besides I can wake you if something's up." Midna gave him a hard look and then she smiled, confusing him. "What's so funny?"

"By that tone of voice, you've just shown me that you actually give a damn about my wellbeing." Ike raised a brow, "Even after you told me you hated me."

Ike cleared his throat, "Well, of course, you can't read the map if you're dead now can you?" although his tone did not match his words.

"Sure, I bet that's the _only_ reason." Midna said in the almost exact same tone. After about ten minutes, Ike heard Midna mutter something before she closed her eyes (well, the one that wasn't covered by her mask) , "Goodnight snowflake."

Ike patted her head lightly and smiled, "Night elf."

"_Zelda…Zelda…"_ a voice cooed, causing the princess to stir in her sleep. The voice seemed so alien, yet so familiar at the same time. "_Zelda…do you not remember my voice child?"_ It asked as Zelda's eyes snapped open. She quickly looked around, nothing but fog. But the voice, it was as if it were whispered in her ear. Then she heard it again, this time able to pinpoint a direction. South. She wasted no time in getting up and following the voice in the darkness. Link opened one eye and saw what Zelda was doing, quickly; he scurried to his feet and darted after her yelling her name.

"Hey, Ike, Ike, wake up!" Midna hissed in the Skyian's ear shaking him and pulling his hair, her eyes quickly looking behind her then back at Ike. Finally, one eye slowly opened. "Thank the goddesses you're awake," a wave of relief washed over her, "Ike, I know this is ganna sound crazy, but I swear on Din's name I heard voices coming from over there." Ike slowly shifted to his feet and grabbed his two swords off the dirt.

"Looks like we're not alone here then." He muttered, rubbing the last bit of sleep out of his eyes. Midna gulped and followed him closely behind. That dreadful feeling in Midna's skin returned, only this time Zelda was not the cause of it. The last time she felt this was when Zant nearly killed her at Lake Hylia. The last time she felt fear like this. She almost ran in to Ike as the boy came to a stop. "Your right about one thing Midna, there are definitely voices and we are definitely not alone here." A dark thought crossed his mind, "You think Link and Zelda are safe?"

Instantly, all the fear in Midna melted, "Only one way to find out." she looked back at Ike who seemed to be rooted to the spot. "You coming?" it took a second for Ike to respond, he simply nodded.

As Midna and Ike drew near and nearer to the voices, the fog kept growing thicker and thicker, soon the only things guiding them were the voices. Both also noted that the closer they got, the clearer the voices became. They stopped, as suddenly as the voices did. Then the fog began to clear in front of them. Ike wondered what was behind the curtain of fog; however he didn't have to wonder for long. "It's…a barn." He muttered, and Indeed it was, old and rotting away. He turned towards his companion with a confused expression, only to find her with her eyes as big as dinner plates.

"Shad," she said quietly, almost lovingly, "you've grown much, little brother." She began floating towards the rotting barn, leaving Ike with a dumbfounded expression. He took his sword off his back and went after her, unaware that what he was seeing was not the same as what Midna was seeing.

The voice was now so clear to Zelda, so close. She felt almost ashamed of forgetting. At last, nearing a pound, she saw _her._ Standing in the middle of the water with her back turned, was a women Zelda thought she'd never see again. The women stood tall and graceful, her brunet hair partially glowing under a light that seemed to bathe her. She was everything Zelda wished to be when she was older. Tears of joy escaped her eyes as she ran towards her.

"Mother," She cried, "It's really you! Oh mother!" She reached her, fell on her knees and embraced the being. Only when she looked up did she realize the truth, her mother was not there. What stood in her place was a rotting piece of tree bark. And so she wept, now tears of agony, for the mother that left her all too soon.

Midna followed her younger brother throughout the castle. It had seemed like ages since she had been there, yet she still knew her way around it like the back of her hand. She noted every detail of the Twilight castle as she followed her sibling. *Wait, father and mother, where are they?* she thought noticing the direction they were taking. *shouldn't we be heading to the throne room?* And then, stepping into the dining room, she saw the King and Queen of Twilight, dead and lifeless on the floor. There was blood everywhere and seeing this made Midna want to vomit. She realized then that she was reliving the night Zant had attacked the Twilight kingdom, the day she was turned into an accursed imp.

Her brother Shad ran towards his parents bodies and cursed. It took him a while before he called the guards over to his side, "Find my sister," he begged them, his voice cracking, "guard her with your life!" The guards nodded and raced towards Midna's chambers, leaving Shad alone to grief.

"Shad," she cried, tears now leaking from her own eyes, "I'm right here. Can't you see me? Shad! Shad!"

Ike let out a low growl, leave it to Midna to be able to phase through objects and leaving him outside. Pushing it open didn't work so Ike did the next best thing. He kicked the door until it cracked open, allowing him to enter. The place was pitch-black, but Ike could make out a few things here and there as he searched the place. It was then he got the feeling that he had been here before, a long time from now, but the familiarity of this place hit him hard like the cold wind racing up his spine. Then he heard something scurry behind him, taking out one of his swords he veered closer to the source until he came face to face with it. It was a boy of no more than eleven with dark hair and eyes that reminded him of his own. He noticed that his cloths were in ruin, and he had no shoes so his feet were covered in dirt. It was too dark to tell anything else, but as Ike put the sword down, the boy looked eyes with him. The boy opened his mouth to say something, but at that moment, heavy footsteps could be heard below.

"Erebus," a deep voice boomed downstairs, "where the hell are ya boy!" Instantly, Ike saw the boy's back straightened a look of fear past his eyes. A light from a lantern shone behind him, he turned and saw yet another familiar face. He immediately realized who it was. It was the man he'd seen so much in his memories. The man was large with a brown bushy mustache and dark eyes that match his own.

"Uncle?" Ike asked, not knowing where the words came from. He noticed that on one hand he carried a lantern while in the other he carried a whip. *What the hell is going on here?* the Skyian thought watching the man approach the boy.

"You disobeyed me three times this week," he told the boy, Erebus, harshly, "you know what happens next. Now turn round boy, before I make this punishment harder than it had to be!" The boy merely obeyed and now, as the light shone on him, Ike could see everything he had suffered through. His lips were bloodied and there were multiple slashes on his back, he also had one eye swollen shut and completely purple.

Ike tried to stop the man, but as soon as his hand made contact, it phased through as if he were merely a specter. Ike watched as the boy didn't flinch or cry out as the man began to whip him. He turned away as the man began to taunt him, unable to bare it any longer. It was then that he heard Midna's crying. He found the imp in a little corner, weeping away and muttering someone's name. He walked over to her and began to shake her in an attempt to break whatever spell she was in. "Come on elf, snap out of it damn it!" But Midna continued to lay there. "Whatever this place is making you see, it's not real. None of it is!"

Finally, as Ike was about to give up, he heard Midna's sniffing stop. "S-snowflake…wh-what are y-you doing here?…this is…" She stopped dazed, and looked around. "How…did I end up back outside?" Ike looked behind him, sure enough; they were back in the fog covered woods.

"Midna, listen to me," Ike said shakily, "this place, II don't know why, but it traps you in an illusion that you and only you see. We have to find Link and Zelda and get out of here."

"Oh Goddesses…Ike I think-" A scream was heard not too far from where they were standing. Midna gasped, "That sounded like Zelda! She's in trouble Ike, I can feel it. Come on!"

**A/N: I know Midna didn't have a brother, but I was really running out of ideas. Feel free to leave comments and let me know how I did. Tll next time folks!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Due to my internet being on the frits, and having to rewrite this about a dozen times just to make it sound decent, this one took forever to come out. And guess what? I really don't like how it turned out, but I leave it up to you, is it good or does it just suck.**

**Chapter 11**

**Dark Ike is born (Fight with the Illusionist):**

Link was back in Ordan, or at least, so his eyes showed him. He had no idea that he was back in the enchanted forest trying to save Hyrule from destruction, nor was he aware that Princess Zelda was franticly trying to snap him out of his illusion. In his eyes, he was home, and in his eyes, Ordan had gone to hell. The place smelled of fire as ash fell from the sky, nearly covering the once peaceful town. Link was speechless with terror; all around him were the bodies of everyone he cared for, the people who he considered family. They were dead, lifeless.

The young hero broke down on his knees and silently began to weep. Link pounded his fists at the ground, not caring how weak he looked at the moment, after all, who was there to see him? "Colin…Tola…Beth…Rusl…Mayor Bo…everyone…" he sobbed, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I failed you all."

There was a sound that behind him, immediately, Link stopped his crying and listened. The shuffling of feet stopped a few inches away from him. "Oh," a voice said with a mixture of hurt and anger, "so _now_ you've decided to come back." Link's blood turned cold, he didn't think he could bare turning around. "Now you've chosen to return, when everyone else is dead?"

Slowly, Link turned around and found himself face to face with the last person he wanted to see.

The blood stained girl looked at him with disgust, mixed in with disappointment, the blonde boy said nothing. "You could've prevented this," she said to him, her voice now fueled with anger, "you could've saved everyone. But instead, you did the last thing anyone here expected, you left to goddess knows where."

"Ilia…" whatever Link was about to say died on his lips. Ilia narrowed her eyes, almost ashamed to look at her best friend.

"I believed in you Link, I believed that you would come to our rescue. But when the danger came you were nowhere to be seen. And now, when it's too late, you have the nerve to show your face? I thought you cared about us Link; I thought you cared about _me_!" Tears were now falling from Ilia's indigo eyes.

"Ilia…I-how could I have known this would happen?" he asked her, Ilia was taken aback by this. Clearly she had not expected this question.

"I guess you really couldn't, then again, maybe if your head wasn't full of Princess Zelda you would have noticed what was going on and rushed over here. I guess I really don't know you Link." She nearly spat the words out; the hate and venom were clearly visible.

Before Link could say anything, Ilia cut him off.

"Don't try to deny it Link," She said crossing her arms, "I saw those misty eyes she gave you when she brought you back to Ordan…You're in love with her…aren't you? Don't answer that…I have nothing to say to you."

"Ilia…ilia, wait!" But the girl just kept on walking, leaving Link felled with guilt. Suddenly, Link realized he had lost his voice.

"…ink!"

He spun around quickly, only to be met by silence. *Is my mind playing tricks on me?* he thought to himself looking around.

"…Link!"

*That sounds like Zelda's voice…but what is she…?*

"You have to wake up Link!" he heard her say, clearly afraid.

*Wake up,* the boy wondered, *But I'm awake…aren't I?* Then for a brief second, Link saw Zelda and the fog covered forest. She saw the pleading look in her eyes, silently begging him to come back to reality. Then he did the only thing he could think of at the moment, taking the tip of the master sword, he brought it down on the soft flesh of his hand.

Back in the real world, Zelda had stopped her attempts at waking the young hero, then as she was about to leave him in his twisted fantasy, she heard Link yelped in pain, unable to grab his bleeding hand due to it being in the sling. She helped him up to his feet, "How do you feel?"

"Other than the burning in my hand," he said once again instinctually guiding his good hand to help dull the pain in his right one, "I feel fine."

This earned him a smile that he could barely see in the fog, "I'm glad," suddenly, both heard the sounds of footsteps fast approaching. Zelda squinted closer until she could just barely make out the outline of a figure. No, not one figure, there were two. "Look," she cried as she realized who it was, "that's Ike and-" she never finished her sentence, for from the fog emerged several small dark creatures that began to pile up on the four heroes.

Ike awoke to the feeling of his back baring the earth. In fact, Link, Zelda, and Midna also felt this. The reality however was that at that very moment, hundreds of impish creatures held them captive under their weight. Only their heads stuck out, they looked as if they've been buried from the neck down.

"What the heck," Midna cried out trying her best to get off the dirt, "I-I can't move! What gives?"

"Huh," Link groaned, his eyes quickly opening as he struggled to get up, "I can't move either!"

"It's like someone glued us to the floor then dropped a hundred boulders on our backs." Ike agreed with a hint of anger in his voice. "Alright that's it, whoever the hell you are, if you think we're just ganna lie here and take it you got another thing coming! You hear me?!"

"Ike, spare your voice," Zelda sighed, "whoever did this to us seems to be nowhere in sight."

"Yeah, whoever the hell did this must've shown us those visions." The boy muttered under his breath, instantly, the four looked at each other.

"For some odd reason," Zelda began, "this place showed me an illusion of…my mother."

Hearing this, Midna gathered the courage to talk about her vision. "It showed me the night Zant attacked the Twili palace, and…the death of my parents." She let out a sigh, relived that was out of her system. "Sometimes I wonder, is my brother still alive in the Twilight realm looking for me relentlessly, or is he…?" She couldn't bring herself to finish that sentence; the thought was too horrible to bear.

Link let out a sigh, the vision still fresh in his head. "I was back in Ordan," he said simply, "everyone was dead, all because I failed to protect them. Sometimes, I wish that were a lie." There was a tone of sadness in his voice; he still felt Ilia's eyes staring him down like they knew he was ashamed.

"That doesn't make sense," Ike said looking at all of them in turn, "all three of you saw something that pained you in past, but I what I saw had nothing to do with me. The only person that I recognized there was my uncle."

"How could you be sure?" the imp asked him, Ike sighed, for he could not shrug due to the weight on his back.

"You got me there." Ike admitted.

"Well," Midna groaned, "I think it's safe to say that this is definitely the work of the Illusionist."

"One of Alastor's chosen?" Link asked Midna simply nodded.

"Couldn't find much on her, other than she used to be one of those hoax fortune tellers who suckered people and got so into it she herself started believing her own lies. The reason she made a deal with Alastor, I have no idea, all it says is she enjoy making others suffer through her visions."

_"My, my, my," _a voice said in an almost playful matter, it sounded as if it were everywhere at once. _"Someone has been doing their research_ _on me."_ Suddenly, it seemed time had stopped altogether. "_You missed a few details," _she said as she revealed herself, she indeed resembled a fortune teller, although the being wear the garments appeared to be made out of smoke. She floated cross legged in the center of all of them. "_All in all however, you've perfectly described me."_

"So you-you pledged us with theses hellish visions?" Link asked, anger building deep in his throat.

_"Hellish?"_ the being asked surprised, "_My dear boy, I merely gave you some of your past back." _ She gestured towards everyone in turn, "_I sent you back to your home town and let you speak to your friend. I reunited the princesses with their families as well, but perhaps the biggest favor, I did for your friend here." _She stopped and pointed at Ike, then crossed her arms, "_You really should be thanking me."_

"Thanking you?" Ike asked in rage, his eyes coated with an anger that he himself never knew he possessed, "You enjoyed every last second of our suffering didn't you crazy bitch?"

The Illusionist patted his head like a puppy, "_Temper, temper,"_ she said in a singsong voice; she began playing with the skyian's hair. "_Such lovely silver hair on that pretty head of yours," _The boy bit her misty hand away, "_that temper kills it however, a pity really." _ She sighed, "_Well, I suppose I should stop stalling now."_

With those words said, the Illusionist disappeared into the fog. Suddenly, the weight of the creatures intensified greatly. "What…what's that?" Midna managed to choke out, she was referring to Link's shadow that was stretching away from him. Her eyes widened as she realized what was happening. "Link, your shadow!"

The hylian could barely look to his side; even so, he saw what was happening. His shadow continued to expand until a dark substance appeared. At first, it had no clear shape and basically looked like a blob. After a few seconds, it began to take form, slowly starting to resemble a human. The Illusionist was looking from afar, unseen by the heroes. "_Hmm, no, this simply will not do."_ She muttered looking over back and forth between the heroes and the princesses. She stared at the silver haired teen, the fire in his eyes getting her attention. "_He's angry," _she realized, a smile creeping into her concealed face, "_his memory is lost and he's forced to play the role of a hero_._ And unlike that Hylian who's hell bent on saving his kingdom, all he really wants is someone to blame, someone to go after._ _That anger is just what I need." _With a flick of her wrist, the substance halted its materializing process, and attached itself onto Ike.

To say the least, the experience was not painful. Ike felt as if he were wrapped up in a cocoon, then as quickly as it began, the dark substance left him. Ike suddenly felt…incomplete, as if that dark substance took away part of him. As it began to take form once again, Ike finally understood what had happened. The dark substance was now beginning to mirror his appearance. What stood before them was a perfect copy of Ike, with a menacing dark aura, deathly pale skin, and blood red eyes. Ike stared at it in horror, "…Bastard…GIVE ME BACK MY SHADOW YOU DAMN FREAK!"

Ike's double ganger paid him no attention, instead he looked around the forest, dazed, confused and fascinated; only adding to the youth's anger. "Hey! Are you listening to me?!" Ike asked it, feeling the weight on his back increase, but that was only a minor concern at the moment. Still the being ignored him and continued to observe his surroundings as if he were invisible. "Are you blind and deaf?!" This time the figure did look at Ike and did a sort of grunt to acknowledge his existence.

"Is this some sort of joke?" Ike asked as he stared at his replica in disbelief.

The Illusionist's voice rang throughout the forest, clearly as confused as her captures. "_Hmm, I was_ _expecting something a bit more violent_. _Oh well, this is what happens when you cut corners. I'll have to make do with what I have." _ There was a pause, then, a blade that resembled a Japanese short sword appeared in Dark Ike's hand. He stared at it before the Illusionist spoke again, grabbing everyone's attention. "_I suppose I can still use you, you just a push in the right direction."_

Zelda's eyes widened in horror, "You-you wouldn't, not like this."

"Naturally, you'll send the puppet to do your dirty work while you watch us die a slow and painful death." Link spat, his eyes searching for the chosen.

"_My, you catch on quiet fast don't you?"_ the Illusionist laughed, then turning her attention to the shadow creature, who was mystified by the weapon in his hand, she spoke with authority in her voice. "_I gave you the tool, now put it to good use, slay the Hylians and the creature, but save the silver haired Skyian for last." _ The being seemed to process this, and soon it was made obvious that some understanding did reach Dark Ike as he slowly began advancing towards Link and Zelda, partially dragging the blade behind him.

…Hyl…ians." It murmured, in a cold, raspy voice that was barely audible as it proceeds onward.

Link looked up at him, his ocean eyes met his, and he saw nothing. No emotion, no conscience, nothing; he was as a blank sleet. He saw Dark Ike raise the sharp blade, and instantly, his heart began to race. *Is this the end?* A small voice asked at the back of his head, *after all I've gone through, is this really who I'm going to die? Cut down by some shadow who could barely react, let alone utter a word?* the weight on his back became almost unbearable as the voices around him began to fade and his eyes began to slowly close.

*I can't move! My body won't react! I won't let it end like this! No…no...NO!*

Link didn't see what happened next, he did feel a warm glow as energy flowed through him, and then he heard an otherworldly scream. When Link opened his eyes, he saw himself shining a faint golden color as the shadow being was backed away, bearing his pointed teeth at him and hissing like a snake. Zelda began to glow as well and in a few seconds, the imp like creatures began scurrying away from the four.

"_What's this?!" _ The voice of the chosen rang throughout the forest, clearly furious. "_No, it can't be! You two Hylians possess the power of the Triforce!" _Dark Ike seemed to get over the shock of the light and was now having a mental argument with himself. "_Don't just stand there you fool," _the Illusionist shouted, "_Kill them!"_

The shadow gave a snarl before turning his attention towards the heroes; Link drew the master sword and immediately stepped forward. "Be careful Link," Midna warned him, "even the weakest of enemies hide deadly motives." Link nodded and watched as his opponent raised his own blade in in an almost mechanical matter. Then without warning, Dark Ike gave an ear spitting screech and recklessly charged at Link, almost catching him off guard.

The hero's reflexes were quicker, and he managed to block the incoming attack, the two metal blades screeching as they came in contact. Link realized Midna was correct; the sluggish movements Dark Ike made earlier gave him the impression that the Shadow was a weakling. However, as Link was now struggling, he realized what an idiot he was for letting his guard down like that. Link kicked the shadow being in his gut, surprising and sending him to the ground. Link glanced back at Midna, half expecting her to give him her best "You're an idiot, I told you didn't I face" look, instead, the imp wore a terrified expression on her face.

Link heard another shriek and turned just in time to avoid the sharp blade aimed for his head. *Thank the goddesses for that!* he thought as he backed away, blocking the fury of attacks that came next. What made him lose his balance was when Dark Ike leaped into the air (Screaming something that barely resembled the word kill.) and knocked him down with his sword. Before the Dark Ike delivered the killing blow, two blades slashed at him, and giving an agonizing cry, he retreated back as dark substance oozed out of him.

"Ike?" Link asked confused, "Why did you-"

"I was bored," the swordsmen grinned, "And you were taking too long. Although, I'll admit, I underestimated him, seeing as you couldn't take him out with only one arm." He turned towards the shadow being, who was staring at his wounds in confusion. "So this is my shadow eh?" Ike said popping his neck. "Perfect replica of me, supposed to know all my moves before I even make them; Seems to me like they forgot to add a brain, wouldn't you say Link?"

The creature snarled at him and proceeded to attack him. Ike quickly got his two swords out and countered his shadow's attacks, taking a few hits himself. The thing screamed and hissed in frustration at his inability to kill his opponent. Seeing his shadow never stopped glaring murderously at Link, Ike signaled for him to get ready. As soon as he saw his chance, Ike backed away a few feet from the shadow being. Then he taunted it to come closer, even going as far as to relinquish himself of his weapons. As expected, the thing growled and ran at him. Ike grinned as he stepped aside, Link stormed in and using his wounded arm, he tackled the surprised monster to the ground and kicked him back with all his might. Dark Ike was struggling to get back up, shrieking and screaming at Link until he silenced him with another kick. The shadow looked up at Link with pure hatred leaching from his crimson eyes, growling low. Before he had a chance to grab his fallen weapon, Link stopped Dark Ike in his tracks. "Goddess," he muttered as he raised a foot to the shadows face, "don't you ever stop howling?" He brought his foot down repeatedly until Dark Ike began to return to being nothing but dark substance.

Ike whistled, "Didn't know you had it in you." He admitted, "Now I'll make a mental note on not getting on your bad side."

"You know," Midna said, grinning as she hovered next to the two heroes, "you two make a good team." She then looked at Link with triumph in her eyes.

Link sighed, "You can tell me I was wrong and how much of an idiot I am after we get out of here."

"But first," Ike said taking out one of his blades and gripping it with both hands, "we find that chosen and rip her Goddess-damn heart out, see how she likes it when a piece of her is taken away."

As soon as those words left his mouth, there was a ringing sound that echoed throughout the forest, and then a sinister purple aura began forming all around them, instantly, both Ike and Midna were unable to move, the former still having a grip on his sword. Midna theorized that because Link and Zelda had the Triforce of wisdom and courage, they were unaffected by the Illusionists spells, but that was the least of their worries. The chosen herself appeared before them, wielding two daggers that resembled monsters teeth.

"Worthless shadow creature," she hissed angrily, "now I have to dirty my hands taking care of these scum myself." She looked from Link to Zelda and back again, "Puppets of the goddesses or not, my masters power is older, stronger, and more effective than that of the pity so called "rulers" who created this pathetic land."

As Link slashed at the being in front of him, she disappeared, and an echoing laughter was heard around them. "Fools," the chosen spat as she reappeared behind Link, repeating the process after being slashed at again. "For all you know, I could be anywhere, and you, fighting mere clones of me." Link growled, gripping the sword until his hands ached, then he felt a sharp pain in the lower parts of his ribs as he felt warm blood on his cloths. Zelda shot a light arrow at the chosen, but she disappeared into the mist and the arrow just barely missed Link.

"Oh my- I'm so sorry Link, I-" It was Zelda who got stabbed next, she let out an agonizing cry as she felt a one of the knives slash at her side. The chosen vanished as the Princess fell to the ground, crimson blood tainted her white dress. Link ran to her side immediately.

Midna could only stare at the scene before her with horror in her eyes. She then rolled her eyes and saw Ike, still holding the sword with both hands. "Hey Ike," she called, "can you move your arms?"

"Kind of," Ike murmured, "why?" Midna was barely able to tilt her head towards the illusionist, which had reappeared to a fallen Link. "Got it." Ike nodded, slowly; he began to raise his sword over his head. Then, as the Illusionist was about to strike at him, using all his strength, hurled the blade toward her, impaling her directly. The illusionist's eyes showed something no one expecting, there was fear in her eyes, fear to fade away, fear of death.

"_He…he promised me eternal life…I-I can't…die" _

"Believe what you want, either way, you're finished." Link exhaled helping Zelda to her feet.

"_The temple that you seek…is beyond that path…"_

"Now just wait a minute," Midna said upon realizing she was able to move freely, "You just expect us to trust an enemy? You could be leading us to a trap without us knowing!"

_"I am at death's door, too weak to even reform into another body. There is nothing left for me to live for, if my mater hears of my defeat, I will surely be dead."_

As if to prove her point, she began to fade, and the mist began to diminish. Soon a clear path was visible and the four left without another word.

Overlooking the forest in which the heroes were located, a cloaked figure atop a jet black steed stood. As he saw the fog began to clear, he cursed in ancient Hylian, gripping the rains on his horse, then an otherworldly voice spoke to him.

"_Lord Ganondorf, I implore you to hold back your anger. One of my chosen has failed her task, and she rightly accepted her death, dishonorable as it was. But I assure you, when another chance arises, my forces will slaughter the heroes. If all else fails, you will have the honor of finishing them off…personally."_

Grudgingly, the lord of darkness rode back to where his master was waiting.

**A/N: Well that's all she wrote, hopefully I'll update sooner next time. (By the way, the OC here, I don't know if I should make him evolve and make him into a main vilian or not)**


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